Jailbirds, Lovebirds, Avian Americans Same Thing
by green-eyed-wonder 0-0
Summary: Max ends up in prison after she 'accidentally' killed Lissa. There she meets her dark, mysterious cellmate Fang with a dangerous past. Max and Fang along with their new friends struggle to survive in a prison where everyone and everything is against them, and they just might not make it out alive. They only have each other but is that enough? Fax.
1. The Introduction

**Jailbirds, Lovebirds, Avian Americans... Same Thing.**

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><p>Max had the perfect life. She had the perfect grades. She had pretty perfect looks. She was perfectly athletic with black belts in karate and being named captain of the girl's soccer team. She had the perfect family. And she had the perfect boyfriend or so she thought.<p>

After accidentally killing her boyfriend's girlfriend during their date, Max, now charged for murder, is being sent to a prison called the School. A correctional facility for the violent and unstable, and just like that, her perfect life is gone.

Now trapped in prison, she meets her cellmate, Fang. Dark and mysterious, Fang has a dangerous past which Max might now want to know about. She doesn't know that she's now living with a professional assassin. She doesn't know the School really isn't a prison, and she doesn't know that she is never, ever getting out even if her prison sentence is only 5 years.

Along with Fang and her new inmates, Max learns the secrets of the School, and suddenly, prison seems so much simpler then the hell she has to live through. In a place, where everyone and everything is against her, Max has to learn how to survive. She learns the true meaning of pain and sorrow and hopelessness because Max just might now make it out alive. Max, Fang and their 4 inmates only have each other, but is that enough to help them live through hell?

And somewhere along the way, Max finally learns the definition of perfect. She finds the perfect love.

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><p><strong>I originally had a Chapter 1, but I hated it so I replaced it. This story doesn't really have any mature scenes though implied. There are some jokes that older people will get. If you're okay with inappropriate humor and maybe some, kind of horror not really horror, then go ahead and read. If you're not, you should still read anyway because you might like it :D <strong>

**Also, I'm planning to update this story, once a week but during school months, it will definitely take longer. I apologize for the delay, but I will not give up on the story. I will continue to write. **

**Lastly, I would really appreciate if you read this story that you review with feedback, helpful criticism, anything that could make this story better! I would really appreciate it! Just tell me what you think. If you hate it, just say so, and I'll try to fix the problems.**

**Though really... THANK YOU. For clicking on the story and taking the time to review and all. **

**THANK YOU SO MUCH**

**NOW ENJOY. i hope :3 **


	2. The Murder

**Please Read! This is different from the previous chapters and has more information so yeah. Please! I know you hate me and stuff and I am so sorry!**

**Chapter 2. I know you guys all hate me, but I'm typing as fast as I can, and I only got 2 reviews for the last chapter. Please Review! Here we go. I really am sorry you guys! Thank you for reading though. I understand if you hate me and you don't want to review but thank you for reading. **

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><p>I opened the door and called into the living room, "Mom, Ella, I'm home!"<p>

Ella came thumping down the stairs and into the living room. I threw my backpack onto one of the red leather couches decorating the room. Surrounded by the couches was a glass topped coffee table which currently had my dad's unfinished crossword from this morning and an empty coffee mug laying on it. The 55' flat screen TV was mounted on the wall across from the 3 seater sofa. There were paintings by unknown artists scattered across the wall in an unorderly fashion but that just made them stand out even more.

I plopped down on the couch after my backpack, the sofa soft and dipping underneath my weight just as Ella asked, "Is it true Dylan asked you out on a date?"

"Um... yes, but you shouldn't be surprised. I've been going out with him for a week now and you already knew that." I responded while pulling out my homework from my pack along with a pencil and a giant pink eraser. You don't get academic awards by not doing your homework you know.

"I'm not surpised."

"Well, I am. I just got home from school a minute ago and you already know what happened,"

"I keep up with facebook updates and blogs at a second to second basis. DUH!" she said waving her Sprint HTC around. Oh yeah, did I mention that girl has to have her phone with her wherever she goes. She's addicted to it, without it she would have no social life. I mean, it's like their married and she's an overprotective spouse who doesn't let the other out of sight. I once rigged her room with booby traps which she survived through no problem, but then I took away her phone for 2 seconds and when she realized it was gone (which wasn't to long after- i swear she would even shower with that thing if it was waterproof) she freaked out. One more thing my 14 year old, brunette sister with larger, chocolate colored eyes and a keen sense of fashion and gossip, is totally in love with is her clothes. Speaking of the little devils.

"Whatever, I'm excited. I get to dress you up and make you pretty, but you have absolutely no sense of fashion and your wardrobe is drab," Jee sis, way to make me feel better, "So I am going to dress you up in mine though they might be tight, but that's fine. They'll show off the little curves you have. Another thing: I was still developing and my little sister was almost done. She looked like a model with her perfectly curled hair glittering tank top and jean skirt.

"Absolutely not,"

"Yes, in fact let's get started. We only have 3 hours until your date and we need all that time to count.

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><p>3 hrs later:<p>

I stood in front of the full length mirror in my bathroom. My sister had brought all her torture tools (don't really know the names of them because I am a total tomboy and if I did, it would ruin my image) and killed my hair until it fell perfectly straight, midway down my back. She shoved colored chemicals that I didn't even want to know the names of onto my face and used a tweezer on all the little fine hairs that I didn't even know were there.

Even though I didn't totally approve of her dressing me up like a barbie doll and taking 3 freaking hours to do it too -I still didn't get homework done- I looked pretty good. I was wearing one of Ella's midnight blue dresses- yes, one of them, she has 4- with a pair of turquoise laid in silver earrings and a matching necklace. I had manged to talk Ella into not making me wear her high heels so on my feet, I had on a pair of black flats.

"Wow, I did a pretty good job if I do say so myself. I think I should start a before and after column online and you can be my first model," she said whipping out her phone, snapping a picture, then darting out my room.

It took me a while to register what just happened, but when I did, I yelled, "Ella, you better not do anything! Get over here!" and started chasing after her.

I sprinted out my room and down the steps my heavy footsteps thudding along the hardwood floor. Thank god for flats. I ran into the kitchen just before Ella threw her arms around mom's waist and grinned. I groaned. When we were little, we used to love playing tag, but we could never end the game. So we decided whoever hug mom first won and the other couldn't get back at them.

"Hey, Max," mom said nonchalantly. "You gonna eat pizza with us? It is pizza night."

Shit, I totally forgot, but now that Mom mentioned it I could see the counter was littered with partly chopped vegetables and uncooked pork and pepperoni. Shoot, she was making my favorite: pepperoni and pork. I could smell the aroma in the air. I tilted my head back and sniffed, moaning in pleasure. Ok, that sounded wrong.

I groaned, "What is it? Deprive-Max-of-her-favorite-foods Day? First, I don't get bacon for breakfast, then I don't get pizza for dinner! What's up with that?"

Mom chuckled.

"Maybe it's Help-Max-Go-On-A-Diet-And-Lose-Weight Day," Ella said with a wink letting go of my mom's waist. Just then the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," I yelled running to the door and yanking it open. Dylan was waiting on the steps to our house with a bouquet of roses in his hand. He tugged at the collar of his shirt nervously. He was wearing a nice button down shirt and black pants.

"You look nice," he said, his eyes roaming, prodding my body.

"Thank you. You too," I said sheepishly, then called out to mom, "Mom, Dylan's here. Imma go now, k."

"Sure thing, Max. Just be home before I go to sleep."

My mom loved her beauty sleep and was always very angry whenever someone interupted it. I grabbed my purse from the little side table by the door and walked out with Dylan, looping my arms into his. He lead me to his car which was parked crookedly on the driveway as if he was in a rush and opened the passenger door for me again. I stepped inside with a nod in his direction to indicate my thanks, and then he got in the car himself and started it up. After backing out, he kept one hand on the steering wheel while he drove and the other intertwined with mine. I smiled and rolled down the window, sticking my head out and enjoying the rush of the cold wind stinging my face and throwing around my hair. I laughed and Dylan laughed along with me. Ella would be so mad that I must ruined her hard work.

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><p>About 20 minutes later, Dylan pulled up into a very snazzy looking club called the Night Ride. He rushed out of the car and opened the passenger door for me again. Ok this is getting really annoying. I admit I like the fact he is being very romantic and gentleman like but seriously, I can open a car door for myself. I grabbed my purse and raked my fingers through my hair trying to settle it down after it was whipped around in the wind.<p>

Dylan pushed my hand out of my hair, "Don't," he said, "I like it just the way it it."

I was tempted to giggle, but I held it in. I didn't giggle, no tomboys did. I think.

He pulled me to the entrance of the club ignoring the long line and the rude remarks the people who were waiting were throwing at us. He walked right up to the giant man in a XXXXL tuxedo and exclaimed, "Dylan."

The man's muscles rippled as he flipped through the sheets on his clipboard. He was currently standing behind the counter and manning it, making sure all the guests entering were on the list. Dang, if this was the size of the receptionist person, I wouldn't want to know how big the bodyguards or guards would be.

"Of course sir, come right in." The man said, pulling away the red rope and allowing us access into a club blazing with lights and music and ignoring the groans of protests behind him.

Dylan led me in, "So what do you think?"

"Are you sure we're allowed to be here," I yelled, trying to make myself heard over all the yelling, cheering and music blasting.

"OF course! It's senior year! Live a little!" With that he dragged me over to the bar and ordered two shots.

"We're not old enough to drink," I tried to tell him.

"In this place we are. My dad owns this thing," he said nonchalantly.

"WOW!" I exclaimed. My ears were hurting from all the loud noise and my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. The barman came back with our shots but I politely refused to drink mine. Dylan looked at the barman and exchanged a knowing glance. Then he picked up the shot glass and shoved it in my face.

"Drink it," he said firmly raising his voice. Whether it was because he was mad or because he wanted to make himself heard, either way it sounded threatening.

"I'm not old enough," I said just as firmly putting up a brave front.

"Oh, come one, of course you're old enough. I had my first drink when I was 15. You'll be fine."

"OK," I said uncertainly. I grabbed the cup and drank it all down in a single gulp. I shook my head, my ears were buzzing and my throat burned. It tasted horrible but I wanted more. "Waiter, 6 more shots please!"

"That's the way it done Max," Dyland said, looking pleased.

After my 4th shot, Dylan grabbed me and pulled me close. His breath reeked, but then again so did mine.

"Want to go dancing, babe?"

"Yes," I giggled. This time I pulled him onto the dance floor. They were playing a dirty song and it suited me just fine. I began to sway my hips in time with the music. Throwing my arms around and whipping my hair. I noticed some other couples doing an even dirtier dance, so I tried it just to fit in. I was totally drunk by now. I grabbed Dylan around his waist and pulled him closer so out bodies were touching. He wasn't much taller than me, only a few inches, so I didn't have a tough time. I began to roll my hips and grind into him. I heard him moan and I increased my pace. This was fun, but I wanted more. After a pulling out a couple more loud groans from his mouth, I yanked him throught the crowd and pushed him up against the wall straddling him. I shoved my lips against his and he moaned again. One of his arms found his way to my ass and squezed while the other tangled itself in my hair. My hands found their way to his hair and yanked him closer. I licked his lips as the speed of the kiss increased. I could feel tiny sparks as my lips pushed against his. He tilted his head angling himself better and turned around, shoving me against the wall. He hand still caressed my ass while his tounge licked my lips and asked for entrance. I gladly complied, opening my mouth and shoving my tounge out to meet his. He pulled back for a few seconds trying to catch his breath and I just smirked. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a furious redhead stalking towards us. I pushed Dylan back a little and glared at her. How dare she interupt me.

Dylan saw me looking and glanced in that direction and paled. Then he quickly regained his composure and smirked. The redhead came closer. Her face was caked in make up and she was dressed like a slut. Short skirt that revealed her more of her ass than should be revealed and a tube top that pushed up her breasts to show cleavage.

She walked up like she was queen of the world and started yelling, "How dare you? You're making out with my boyfriend."

"Your boyfriend! He's my boyfriend!" Wow, that girl was a wonder, accusing me of making out with her boyfriend. Imma call her the Redhead Wonder.

"No, Dylan's mine. He became mine when we had sex together last week. Tell her Dylan," she said looking at him. He hadn't said anything yet and was just standing there quietly.

"Yeah, its true, but Max is also my girlfriend," he said, not trying to deny it.

"What the hell! You were cheating on me with this slut! I can't belive it!"

"Max, calm down. I wasn't cheating on you. I like you maybe even love you but you weren't having sex with me and I needed something to do at night. I mean I started dating you because your name was Maximum Ride, but then I started liking you. You were pretty, smart, funny-"

"Ahem," Redhead Wonder coughed, "Aren't you forgetting something. You said you would ditch her because I was the best fuck buddy you ever had."

"Well, I changed my mind. And I still haven't fucked Max yet. Say, let's have a threesome tonight, then I will decide whom I wanna keep," Dylan said.

"Fine with me," Redhead Wonder said. Ew, not only was she a slut, she was a freaking lesbian too.

"No, aboslutely not." I said. I slapped the Redhead Wonder across the face and punched Dylan's nose, "that's what you get for being a bitch, and that's what you get for leading me on." I yelled stomping away. I heard the Redhead Wonder say something about no one calling her a bitch and then I felt somthing hit the back of my head hard.

Shit, she threw her 7'' high heel show at me, I realized while rubbing the back of my head. I whipped a bottle from the bar, snapped it and half, and threw the end with the bottle neck straigh at Redhead Wonder. It hit her square in the chest, the broken park embedded in her and the neck sticking out from her tube top. The once white tube top was now turning red. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was drawn in a tight line of disbelief. Then she fell down. Probably dead, and I didn't move. Not when Dylan leaned over the body yelling Lissa or when the music stopped playing and the entire club turned to stare at me or even when my stomach flip flopped inside of me. I moved when I saw Dylan get up, his face a mask of anger and say, "You killed her."

I turned and ran, straight into the bathroom to throw up. I had actually killed someone. Me, perfect Maximum Ride, killed somebody and it was all Dylan's fault.

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><p><strong>Once again, I am so very sorry about the delay. I'm doing the best I can. And yes rereading is a good thing so is rereviewing, but if u dont wanna review thats okay... I understand. <strong>

**Quesion of the day: Is the story more interesting than it was before or worse?**

**Reviews please...PLEASE :)**

**~~~~Xia~~~~**


	3. The Taken

**I got 9 reviews! That's more than last time and I'm actually quite happy since so many people hate me. :( Oh well, on with the story. Thank you to all my readers and I'm sorry if you didn't like the last chapter or this story anymore. Still, keep reviewing. Comments, criticism, etc... is welcome. Thank you so much and enjoy the show or chapter or whatever. I shall remember something...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride and this is for every single chapter so I don't have to keep rewriting it. **

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><p>Max P.O.V.<p>

Oh. My. Gods. I just killed someone. And I was acting like a slut. The two worst things to be in life: a murderer and a slut and maybe an accountant (no offense) and I had become them in just a matter of seconds except for the accountant. If I became an accountant I swear, the next person I murder will be myself.

After running into the bathroom, I rushed over to the sink and leaned over the side, emptying my guts out. I retched and retched until I came up dry. I looked up into the mirror. My hair which was so perfectly straightened was messy and tangled, the little amount of makeup that I'd applied was running down my face in blothches due to my tears. When did I start crying? In all that confusion and vomit, I hadn't even notice that I was tearing up.

I wobbled a bit, my feet shaking. I felt dizzy and all the booze I drank was finally catching up to me resulting in a throbbing headache. I placed my hands on the counter to steady myself when the door to the ladies bathroom flung open and hit the back wall with a loud crash. I stumbled back in surprise away from the counter and onto the floor. I was just about to pull myself up when I came face to face with my obnoxious cheater-ass boyfriend.

"Here. Let me help you with that, your holy highness," he said grabbing me by my hair and pulling me up so that I was dangling a couple inches off the ground. My scalp burned with pain. Every single strand of hair was being yanked out. My hands flew to my hair, pulling on it, trying to relieve some of the pain, but Dylan shoved them back down to my sides and then pinned them behind my back.

"Oh, you think this hurts. Wait till I'm done with you," he said with a malicious look. I looked at him, stunned.

"I thought you liked me," I managed to mumble out, still struggling against his strong grip. I swear if he kept this up any longer, he would rip my hair out. I twisted in his grip. Bad idea. My head felt like it was on fire. Forget waxing, the new way to get hair removed: get your stupid boyfriend to do it for you.

"Let me show you just how much I liked you," he smiled and realeased my hair. I dropped to my knees thankful for that torture to have finally ended, but then Dylan bent down and picked me up. The strong arms that once used to caress me and hug me were now imprisoning me in his grip. He squeezed my ass before throwing me at the glass mirror above the sinks. The back of my head struck the glass with a loud crack. I slid down, slumping on the counter. There was shards of glass everywhere and a sharp pain in the back of my head. I reached up and gingerly touched the wound. I winced, and when I pulled my hand away, the fingers were covered in blood. There was a large crack in the mirror where my head crashed against it, but now was no time to admire my handy work because Dylan was stomping up to me, shattering the glass underneath his heavy footsteps and cracking his neck and knunckles for good measure, probably just to intimidate me. I scrambled off the countertop and towards the door, trying my best to ignore the pain in the back of my head, but I hadn't gone far when Dylan caught up. He lifted me up again, this time by my shirt only to punch me in the stomach and send me flying back 5 feet. Some boyfriend. Did I mention he was quarterback of the football team and he was the best quarterback of all the high school football teams. When I wake up tomorrow morning-or if I wake up because knowing Dylan he probably wants to kill me right now- I will have a giant purple bruise reaching from below my belly button to just below my breasts.

"Just want you to know before I die or something happens to me that you are a lying, cheating, bastard who only gives a damn about how good a girl is in bed," I said, spitting out the blood accumulating in my mouth. My vision was getting blurrier and blurrier by the second and black splotches swam across my eyes.

"Maximum. You are going to regret ever saying that."

I knew I was. "Why did you date me in the first place then, hmm, if you didn't like me?" I couldn't stay concious that much longer, I was already losing a grip on reality and it took me 30 seconds to say the last seconds including all the breaks I had to include for me to catch my breath.

"Haha! I only dated you because of a bet. I have fucked almost every single girl in the school except for you and your delicious little friends and that one girl with a serious case of acne. I was trying to get you in bed with me, but to do that, I knew I wouldn't get to fuck anybody else and I'd have to be the perfect boyfriend. I dated you for 1 month! No fucking anyone for one month, and having to put up with you! I was getting annoyed, and then I met Lissa, the slut you just killed, and I decided I would stay with you but I would also try to get an occasional fuck in with her. When my mates found out, they bet I couldn't get a threesome with you and Lissa so I brought you to this club and invited Lissa so I can prove them wrong, but you Maximum," he said, practically spitting my name out,"just had to ruin everything with your perfect little ideals. Well, guess what, after today you won't be innocent anymore. I waited for you to open up, and now I'm going to force you open."

Dylan lunged at me, but I rolled out of the way. I would have to give in eventually, I couldn't fight the star quarterback and I was already dipping in and out of conciousness. I felt a tug at my shirt and tried to lift my hand to swat it away but I couldn't. Dylan was still struggling with my shirt before he realized something and reached into his back pocket to pull out a knife. He slashed the front of my shirt open revealing my bra and bruised stomach. Already the bruise was starting to show and the six pack that I had worked so hard to get was fading behind the dark purple. Dylan was grinning. He practically ripped the shirt off my body and instictively I covered my chest with my hands. In the distance, I could hear a siren and shouts of people. Or maybe it wasn't in the distance, I was just going deaf. My vision blacked out before returning a few seconds later. Dylan was no longer staring at me, he was rushing out the ladies stall door. I sat watching as he ran away. My clothes were torn and blood covered and I was sitting against the wall in just a bra and jeans. The last thing I saw before blacking out completely was Dylan's brand new black boots as he ran out the door away from the sirens that were getting closer.

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><p>I woke up with a major headache. In the a really small space with absolutely nothing in it. No doors and one window that was blocked by bars. The only thing in it was me. I sat down on the cold floor and leaned back against the wall. Until I did this, I hadn't even realized I was moving. Well, this probably either means I'm on a rollercoaster ride or I'm in the back of a moving van. When the car stopped, I lurched forward hitting my head against the floor as I flew passed the window and caught a glimpse of a tall spire.<p>

Oh crap. I got up and ran to the barred window, rubbing my head and trying to prevent the pain from increasing. Looming outside was a huge and I mean huge, grey and black building surrounded by a really tall wall with a gate and a moat. It had two towers on either side. Those were probably the spires I saw, but what got me was the moat.

Seriously who has a moat. It made this place look like a medieval dungeon though I suppose that's what it was. I wouldn't be half surprised if the people inside there were wearing knight armor and there were crocodiles or alligators in the moat. The whole place was deserted, inhabited. I couldn't see much because the castle was blocking most of the view, but if I craned my head to one side, I could see miles and miles of deserts. In the distance, there were mountains from where I was, they looked like molehills. You know the saying don't make a mountain out of a molehill, well they got this backwards.

I saw some policemen walking by. They carried guns and a weird looking device by their belts. They had the traditional navy blue outfit and hat on along with their big shiny badge. Finally, something normal.

"Hey you there!" I called to them, using my hand to call them over. They looked up and saw me. One of them walked over pulling his gun. He had a serious face and cold blue eyes, his nose was crooked like it had been broken one too many times, on his neck was a giant black mole, and he wore a badge but it wasn't a police officer's badge. Engraved onto it were the words 'Chief of Security: The School'. So that's where we were, the School. What a strange name.

"What is this place?" I asked solemnly, he just grunted.

"Hello, can you talk? What is this place?" He just stared, his cold eyes boring little holes into my skull. I guess it was supposed to be intimidating, but for some reason, it didn't scare me. In fact, just yesterday, this whole ordeal would have scared me, but today it just seemed... normal.

"Ok, maybe you don't speak English. Donde estamos?" I took Spanish for 5 years from middle school to softmore year so I was pretty fluent.

The guard just tilted his head. I was going to give up when he said,"It's a prison."

"There we go, that wasn't so hard was it now? Ok, big boy, just a little more. A prison for what?"

"It's a prison for the challenged and gifted juvenile delinquents such as yourself. Now shut the hell up before I shoot you with this here gun," he said. He didn't look it, but I can tell he was getting annoyed.

"Well, excuse me for being knocked out by my EX- boyfriend and missing the whole orentation on where I am."

"Oh, you haven't missed orientation yet. In fact it's about to start in a couple of minutes. Oh and by the way, its May 21, you've been out for 3 days."

"What! I couldn't have been out for 3 days!" I said, jumping up and yelling it to the guard, praying it wasn't true.

"You're right you weren't," I sighed, "You were out for 3 days while they did surgery to fix your head and brain because of the damage your ex-boyfriend did, and then you were awake for a court hearing which you attended but passed out in the middle of, and after that you were passed out for another 2 days. It's really March 24."

Oh my god. This could not be happening. What would Ella and Mom and Dad think? I missed my big test. How am I going to keep my A+ in that class if I didn't ace that test. I almost laughed at that thought, I was being arrested and here I was thinking about my grades, in fact, I think I giggled a little because then the guard asked, "What's so funny punk? Never thought you'd be arrested."

"That and I just realized... navy blue makes that mole on your neck stand out even more. It must be sad to have a mole right there. No hickeys for you.

"Shut up, delinquent. You will be spending the next five years of your life here in this prison and as chief guard, I can do whatever I want to do you to," he said with a smirk, "so you might as well say goodbye to your old life because you won't be seeing it for a while."

I decided to humor him. "Farewell, perfect life." I called out. "I bid thee adieu. Goodbye sweet perfect life. May I live to see thou another day." Hey, I think that was a pretty good copy of Shakespeare. I think. I even did the swooning thing and hand motions to go with it.

Apparently the guard didn't find it funny.

"Hey! No funny business," he said frowning.

"If it was funny, then why weren't you laughing?" I yelled at him. If I was at school right now, I probably would have just earned my first detention. Great thing I'm not at school then, I thought, then as an after thought, "I went to court? How come I don't remember it?"

"Probably because you were hyped up on laughing gas. You should have seen yourself, going around mumbling about a seahorse named Seahorsey or something like that. You belong in a mental case institute for prisoners, not a school," he answered with a sneer.

"And you belong in a straightjacket not a police uniform, and didn't your mom tell you not to talk to strangers?" I asked with an innocently blank look on my face.

"You better shut the hell up," he snarled, shoving his face up to the bars to meet me eye to eye. His breath was warm on my face and smelled rather strangely like rotten flesh and dog's breath.

"Yessir," I answered stepping away from his stench filled breath and back into the small jail cell I was enclosed in. Normally I wouldn't have given in so easily, but something told me I should. He didn't seem human according to my instincts and my gut is never wrong. He glared at me one last time before stepping away from the bars and walking back to his partner that had stood and watched the entire scene play out from a couple yards away. The one with the bad breath spat on the ground before turning around and stomping toward the giant castle. The other guard just followed like a little puppy.

"Well thanks a lot!" I yelled to no one in particular, throwing my hands into the air for dramatic effect and to top it all off punching the wall of the van. As soon as the metal came in contact with my hand, I screamed in pain. "That probably wasn't a good idea," I though aloud still clutching my aching hand and wincing.

"You're quite welcome, and ya think!"

"Ahh!" I screamed jumping and yanking my uninjured hand up to my heart to steady its rapid beating. "You scared me!" I yelled out to no one in particular.

"Well, duh."

"Who are you and where are you?"

"I'm right here dumbass."

I turned around quickly, searching for the source of the voice. It was a slight bit rough like it hadn't been used in a long time but at the same time still smooth and melodic. If you hadn't already realized, it was dark in the back of the van, so even with squinting my eyes I couldn't see much. The window did let some light it but most of the sunlight was blocked by the enormous castle. In the corner, I could make out just the slighest movement. I shifted forward, treading carefully, trying not to trip on anything else that might be hiding in the darkness. I reached out to the corner with my hands outstretched in front of me, pushing around looking for the voice. My hands came in contact with a soft surface and I squeezed.

"OW! That's my face you biotch," the voice said. I pulled away, surprised. I felt someone shift and brush past my arm. I spun around and came face to face with a girl, or what I think was a girl. From the little light shining through the bars, I could see she had reddish brown hair dyed with black streaks that fell down like a waterfall; straight hair that fell past her shoulders and ended in little upward curls. I couldn't tell what color her eyes were because they were hidden behind her bangs. She was wearing a black t-shirt with a skull, black jeans, a spiked choker necklace, and 5 necklaces around her neck, each of them pertaining to some unrealistically goth icon.

"Who are you?" I asked, stepping out of her way, a little scared and awestuck at the same time.

"The name's Alex. Just a little word of advice, you want to live around here, you better toughen up, kid. The Whitecoats don't take to well to weaklings."

"Oh, and where are we since that asshole of a guard didn't really elaborate," I said with a frown, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning against the wall at the back while watching the illuminated girl. I suppose trying to act cool and collected was a start to toughening up even though on the inside, I was really scared of the spiked choker around her neck.

"Acting cool, won't toughen you up," Alex said chuckling, "and you still got a long way to go."

Darn so much for that theory.

"Where are we? Still haven't been answered."

"Well, kid, guess I better tell you. Welcome to the School."

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><p><strong>Ok, thank you all for sticking with me all the way. I really appreciate it. So I created a facebook page called Green Eyed Wonder 00. Like me or subsribe, either one and I'll add you in the credits or acknowledge you in someway. I reply to things faster on facebook so yeah... leave me comments, and ideas for this story or new stories that I should write. I've got some but it might take a while. And sorryy it took so long to update this story. I've been really busy!<strong>

**To JealousMindsThinkAlike: I've introduced your character! Have fun! :) 3 and thank you for being a great reader and reviewer!**

**Remember, like my page, subsribe, review, etc... the more I get, the more emails I get, and the quicker I remember to update :).**

**Reviews Please! Tell me what you think, I think Fang is coming in the next chapter! ;)**

**~~~~Xia~~~~**


	4. The Brawl

**So, I know I haven't updated in a while, but I shall continue this story. It's just college applications and everything are a pain in the arse! Along with soccer, track, and baseball... So, I have no time in my life, and the time I have is spent updating my facebook page which you should all totally check out. There are a lot of really funny pictures that I found online, and those of you with facebook accounts should check them out. **

**The link is on my profile.**

**Once again thank you all for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate and thank you for being so patient. I know I'm being a bad writer, but I really hope I'll be able to make more time for updating. **

**Thank YOU and here goes Chapter 4:**

**P.S. The first part probably be considered M but whatever... most teenagers probably know it anyway.**

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><p>The School. What an boring name for such an extravagant castle or school or whatever this place is. I got to my feet and looked out the window once again, gripping two of the many bars blocking the window with both my hands.<p>

I wonder how Mom, Dad, and Ella feel right now. They must be so disappointed in me. What about Sam and JJ? Will they come visit? Are they even allowed to come visit? What about Dylan? What about him. He's a fucking, selfish bastard that should go suck his own cock. I mean seriously, how did I think that guy was hot! He has manboobs. Sexy manboobs, NOT that I've seen them... OKAY, FINE, I may have 'accidentally' gone into the boy's locker room after their football practice to get umm... something, and stumbled upon him naked from the chest up. Dylan in all his glory before he had to go and screw things up.

While I stared out the window, reminescing on the life I had left behind, Alex sat in the corner unmoving.

I turned back around, "So, what did you do to get yourself landed in this crap."

"You really want to know, little lady?" Alex asked, laughing.

"Yes, I really want to know. Stop messing around, and don't call me little lady!"

"Sure thing, little lady," she said laughing.

I glared at her, "I told you not to call me that, Fatass."

"Oh look. You're getting guts. Guts are good because you are defintiely going to need them here. And, fatass, seriously? My ass is what convinced 16 different boys to have sex with me. All of them had a pretty big rocketship, if you know what I mean," she said winking. "Oh, how much I miss those rocketships. In fact, I don't think I have gone a week without having sex with someone. And the weeks I haven't... umm... I've had to find other accomodations."

"Eww! Too much information. I just asked what you did to get yourself landed in this crappy place, not which pimp hired you to fuck him, you little whore."

"No need to use such foul language here. We're all friends, and if you say we aren't then I'm gonna cut you up."

"You're the one who said that I needed to toughen up."

"Did I?"

"YES! And you still haven't told me what you did!"

"Oh, yes. Well it is a tragic story. I don't suppose you would want to hear it."

"I wan't to hear the damn story! That's what I've been telling you!" I groaned. This girl was really getting on my nerves.

"Well, then, I suppose I must tell you. Twas the night before Christmas; and all through the street; not a creature was stirring; except one that got beat. My fists were all sore; dirty, bloody, mucked; then a cop was to appear; before she got fucked."

"WHAT?"

"You heard me. I beat up some random civilian, and when the cop came to arrest me, I raped her."

"Why?"

"Because, I didn't want to go to jail. It didn't work, but she was one hell of a fuck."

"I thought you were straight!"

"I never said I was. I even said I had to make other accomodations which means I've had done it with ladies before."

"Eww. Just get away from me."

"Suit yourself," she said, turning away from me and moving into the far corner, blending into the shadows, to satisfy her needs.

Oh my god. Two people wanting to have sex with me in the 2 days that I was awake this past week. That's just too much for one girl to bear, especially when one of the offers is from a bisexual girl. How do cheerleaders deal with it?

As I was thinking about my predicament - YES! I used a big word that is... 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11. 11 letters long - I could hear soft moans coming from the corner. I couldn't bear to think about what was going on in that corner, so I tried humming a song to drown out the noise. After a few minutes, the moans turned into little screams, and I couldn't bear the torture anymore.

"LALALALALALALALALALA! I can't hear you. LALALALALALALALALA!" I yelled on the top of my lungs, trying to drown out the noise. Alex turned towards me and I could see a small puddle forming beneath her as her back moved providing a clear view of her activities. The puddle stained the floor and her torn jeans, and the puddle... was red. There was... a knife in her hands.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, hoping someone would hear and come to help, "HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"

Smoothly and quickly, Alex rushed over to my side and pressed the knife against my throat before I could even react. The razor sharp blade of the knife dug into my throat drawing blood, warm and sticky, which trickled down my neck. The hilt was encased in her grip and the muscles in her hand clenched around it. Her eyes blazed with fire as she stared into mine. Her mouth drew into an ugly snarl.

"Shut the fuck up before I push this even further into your throat."

I stopped screaming instantly and gulped, unable to move. I brought my hands up, attempting to remove the knife but they were shoved back down.

"What do you want?" I choked out.

"Didn't I say to shut up!"

"Well, technically you said shut the fuck up."

"Don't try to be a smartass," Alex said bringing her hand up to slap my face. Before her hand made contact with my face, however, I saw an array of red lines that streaked across in deadly patterns on her arm. Then came the slap. A loud sound resonated from the contact and my head whipped back, hitting the wall of the truck with a loud thud. Dang, for a skinny anorexic looking girl, she sure had muscles. My cheek stung and I'm pretty sure it was turning bright red though I wasn't able to tell with the dim light and the fact that I can't see my cheeks. I'm sorry if that is such a disappointment but frankly, my eyes aren't gymnasts. They can't turn all the way around to see every single part of my body.

Alex turned and walked away, removing the knife from below my chin and placing it in her back pocket. As she walked away, she spit on the floor of the truck. I hate people who spit on the floor ever since I accidentally stepped in someones spit around 5 years ago.

"Hey, why would you spit in here? Haven't you noticed its small, cramped, and if you spit, chances are one of us are most likely going to sit in it!" I said, slowly pulling myself up with one hand and keeping the other on my throat to prevent to much blood from spilling and dirtying the floor.

"Haha, yeah, hopefully its you."

"Did you really rape a female cop?" I asked, uncertainly and disbelieving. I just couldn't believe it.

"No."

"Wait, I thought you said you did."

"I lied. I'm not a slut."

"WHAT! You lied. What kind of idiot would lie about something like that!"

"Well, me, obviously. And I'm not an idiot. I'm just a little violent."

"So, then what did you do that got you landed in here?"

"Oh, you know. This and that."

"UGH! Why are you so frustrating!"

"I could ask you the same thing," Alex answered calmly, propping a foot up against the wall and leaning back against it like most of the wannabee 'cool' kids did. I have admit, though, she did manage to pull it off. In fact, combined with the shadows of the window bars that were being cast across her face, she managed to look even more threatening. "So, little lady. What did you do to get in here?"

"Why should I tell you? You still haven't told me."

"True, true. However, I still have a knife, and you are still defenseless."

"I am not defenseless! I took karate and martial arts for around 8 years! In fact, I'm a black belt," I said with a smug look on my face. I leaned back against the wall opposite of Alex, striking the same pose as her.

She just laughed, "Ok miss I'm a black belt. How would you like to spar with me? Just to pass the time. The loser has to tell the other how they ended up at the School. Deal?"

"No tricks?" I asked suspiciously, staring at her knife.

Alex followed my gaze and threw the knife clutched in her hand away. It clattered against the floor a few times before coming to a silent stop.

"No tricks."

"Then deal."

I slowly got up and positioned myself in the starting position. (Just letting you know, I have no clue about all the martial arts and karate terms so please bear with me here) I hopped around on the balls of my feet, getting ready for anything Alex would throw at me; however, she just stood there examining her nails.

"Umm... I thought we were sparring?" I said uncertainly.

"We are. Just give me a minute to... " Alex trailed off and lunged at me. I stumbled back a few steps, caught off guard, as she barreled into me. I have never seen anyone move so fast. One second she was there and the next, she was gone. I whipped my head around looking for where she had disappeared to when I felt her deliver a blow to my stomach. I doubled over, trying to catch my breath. "I thought you trained in martial arts and karate for 8 years," I heard Alex whisper into my ears before she kicked my legs out from under me, causing me to fall to the floor and land on my shoulder.

I pushed myself up quickly, standing back in the ready position and ignoring the pain in my shoulder.

"Still want more I see." She lunged at me again, but this time I was ready. I sidestepped easily, but when I turned around to deliver a blow, her foot was already there, flying through the air and aiming at my face. I ducked.

After her foot passed over my head, just grazing my hair, I reached up and punched her square in the jaw, knocking her head backwards. She took a couple shocked steps back, her hand resting on her jaw.

"Well, little lady. You sure do pack a punch, but that was just a lucky hit. I was going easy on you, just to see how much pain you could take. I guess no more Mr. Guy now," she said, rubbing her jaw.

"We'll just see about that. What's the hardest you got?" I retorted.

"You will be very sorry you asked that."

The next thing I knew, I was on the floor, sore all over, with a foot on top of my chest.

"I told you you would be sorry. Didn't I?" Alex asked, shoving a hand at me and removing her foot from my chest.

"Thanks for the warning," I winced, taking her hand and pulling myself up with the little strength I had left so that I was now sitting on the cold, hard floor rather than laying down on it. That one blow felt like it drained everything from me. "I've never learned or seen that move before. Where did you learn it?"

"All you need to know right now is that you aren't advance enough for me to teach it to you. So, since I so obviously won, what did you do to get you landed in here."

"Mmrph," I murmured under my breath.

"What was that?" Alex asked, leaning in closer and cupping one ear.

"I killed someone," I murmured again but this time she could hear me. I drew my knees up to my chest and rocked myself back and forth, trying to drown out all the memories that just resurfaced.

"That's it?"

"What do you mean 'that's it! I killed someone for Christ's sake! I took away there life! The girl's family and friends must be crying, must be cursing my name for taking their loved one away from them and all you can say it 'That's IT!"

"I've killed about 30," she said, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. She said it so confidently that I almost got scared. Almost.

"WHAT!

"You heard me. That's how I got landed here. The reason I wasn't going to tell you is because then you would freak out and call me a murderer."

"But! You are! You killed 30 people!" I practically screamed. "You are a murderer!"

"I said about 30, maybe more or less. And I didn't kill them. I just put them out of their misery. There is a whole story behind this, but I don't think you want to know," she corrected. Her tone of voice shone with sadness, but her face was as expressionless at Kirsten Stewart.

"Please," I scoffed, rolling my eyes, "I want to know. I mean I already know you are a murderer."

"As I said before, I am not a murderer."

"Okay. Yeah, killing 30 people doesn't make you a murderer it makes you Superman, I get it now."

"I was trying to save them. They were in terrible danger so I went and killed them before they could be kidnapped and tortured."

"So, you are Superman or maybe the Batman of our lovely little city, but you save people by killing them. Yeah, that makes absolute total sense. I really understand what you are doing. I mean who doesn't like to save people without killing them?"

"Stop the sarcasm. If you want to know the full story sit down and shut up, but I guarantee you, you probably won't like it."

I did as she told me to do. I sat down and stopped talking. She walked over to the window, put an arm on the sill and sighed. Just like those cliche actors in movies when they are about to tell a dramatic story. She opened her mouth to start her life's story, but before she could utter a word, the heavyset door opened flooding sunlight into the room. By now, I had gotten used to the dark and my eyes hurt at the sudden light, so I lifted my arm to cover them. As soon as my eyes adjusted somewhat, I removed my arm and saw 4 men, dressed in all white. They weren't like the police men I saw earlier, for instead of a gun in a holster and a mean threatening glare, they were draped in a white lab coat and their eyes shone with curiosity. In their hands they carried a remote and a large bracelet, for what, I don't know.

Alex saw these men and struggled to get away, trying to push past before they caught her, but she failed. The two closet men latched onto her arms and slapped the metal bracelet onto her neck before letting her go. She continued to run, straight out the van into the fields before the men pushed a button and she was sent into multiple spasms after which she fell to the floor, shuddering.

I backed up, trying to put some distance between me and the cops. My retreating steps carried all the way to the front of the van where the wall was, so I could go no further back. All this while, the men came closer and closer, holding out the strange bracelet or collar thing out in front of them.

"What is that? What are you doing?" I asked.

When the men still came closer, I ran or at least tried too. The men grabbed my arms and yanked me toward them. I struggled, but their grip was too strong. They slapped the collar onto my neck and released me. Unlike Alex, I stayed where I was, not wanting to be shocked and sent into spasms.

"Hmm.. Smart girl. We could use this one on our side," said one of the men, "She follows directions unlike Alex over there," he finished, jabbing his finger in Alex's direction. The man was short and stubby, and the finger he stuck out looked like a churro. (for those of you who don't know what that is... it's Delcious!) His eyes were covered by his heavy *cough fat cough* eyelids and his head was as bald as an eagle whom technically aren't bald. He was wearing the same white trenchcoat as the other 3 men, but obviously his was much larger.

By now she was done with her... umm... spasms, so she took the opportunity to spit on the ground like a professional and retort,"Hey, Alex over here, is what's keeping you alive in the first place remember. If it weren't for me, your whole operation would be on the ground in seconds flat."

"Who knows? Maybe she'll be a better assassin then you ever were. Fist of all, she listens to all directions even when she hasn't been told any..."

"What makes you think that?" I scoffed, interrupting him.

"Did you run when we slapped the collar on your neck?" One of the men reasoned. This one was tall and lanky, as thin as a twig. His eyes were also covered, but this time with a mop of black hair. His skin held on tight, revealing all the little nooks and crannies of his bones. He a little like Ichabod Crane, the main character of the story, the Headless Horseman. His nose was shaped like his too, all curved out and pointed somewhat like a beak. Despite his appearance, his voice was hard and tough, surrounding him with a somewhat menacing glow.

I laughed. "So, lookie here. We have Ichabod Crane and Mr. Pudgekins trying to tell me what do you. You know what I think. I'm thinking, 'screw this'."

"Oh, you won't be laughing after this. You'll spend 5 years in this 'reform prison' and in that time we'll make you respect your elders," said the last man in the back. Oh, he had a menacing glare stuck on his face and his coat was practically ripping from hiding all his muscles. His eyes were boring into me; they looked a murderous color of blue. He gave his beefy knuckles a crack and smiled a smile that took up half his face. "Oh, I'm gonna have fun!"

I gulped. This was going to be a long 5 years.

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><p><strong>Finally! Done with chapter 4. You have no idea how long it took me! I know its not the best but it will have to do because I was kind of tired of keeping my readers waiting.<strong>

** How many reviews? How about 15 reviews at least. More is appreciated!**

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**Question of the day: What is your favorite song?**

**Thank you, thank you!**

**~~~~Xia~~~~**


	5. The Feared

**Ok, I'm kinda sad right now because I only got 6 reviews for the last chapter, but I suppose that's actually really good considering you guys are probably mad at me and I haven't update in forever! So, yeah. Nevermind that, I'm happy again. Happy enough to start writing the 5th chapter. I'm going to try to make this super long because I want to thank you for being such good readers and reviewers, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to. **

**Oh yeah, and check out my facebook page too. Leave comments and stuff on how to improve my stories and I'll see if I can incorporate them. Thank you. Like the page if you like it though. **

**Read and review. Don't forget! Thank you, you guys are all awesome!**

**ONWARDS WITH CHAPTER FIVE. **

**Wait... I don't own Maximum Ride, but I do own the mental retardedness of this entire story so if I mess up, it is all my fault. :DD**

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><p>Let's see. I left off with Mr. Ichabod Crane and Mr. Pudgekins wanting to beat the crap out of me right? Of course that's right, I'm almost always right. It's just part of who I am. In fact that's my middle name. Maximum "Right" Ride. No, seriously, that's what is says on my birth certificate. It's just spelled differently. It's spelled like Ashley, but it's pronounced Right.<p>

Anyway, this was going to be a long 5 years. You think I would be feeling sad or angry at being trapped for the next 5 years of my life, but oddly I felt a little free and lightheaded. As if I was going to faint. Wait, I think I am. I stumbled a little and my grin faltered. Ichabod and Pudgekins blurred away and the whole world turned upside down as my eyes closed and I toppled over. My last coherent thought was, "I faint too much."

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><p>I woke up in an office surrounded by a mix of faces, all of them bald and beefy. I sat up quickly banging my head against the biggest and beefiest forehead of the lot.<p>

"Where am I?" I groaned, rubbing my forehead. I swear, I would have a purple and blue bruise there in a couple hours. What do these people do to their foreheads? Seriously! Forehead training and weight lifting? Somehow I highly doubt that. Despite my doubts, a quick image of men lifting 50 lbs weights with their foreheads popped into my mind, and I couldn't help but giggle slightly at how stupid it looked. The man whose head I slammed into seemed unperturbed by the collision. I'm frankly, not surprised.

"You are at the School," someone voiced with a high, tinkly, and delicate voice. Definitely did not belong to the 4 men surrounding me.

"No shit. Thank you Captain Obvious. Alex already told me that, and so did Ichabod and Mr. Pudgekins. I think. I'm not exactly sure because some fucking people don't know how to mind their own business and keep on getting me knocked out!" I yelled, standing up. Apparently, I was resting on a brand new, red leather sofa. The 4 men backed off and allowing me some room to myself. "Thank you for leaving my personal bubble here. I was starting to feel like stuffed turkey on Thanksgiving!"

"Please calm down Ms. Ride," the voice said again.

I stretched out my arms and legs, shaking them all over, loosening the muscles all while searching for where the voice came from.

"Move out of the way so I can see our 'prisoner,'" the voice spat. Not at all something Snow White should be saying. The bodyguards all shifted to the back of the room, giving me a better view of the man behind the desk. By now, I have determined that I am in an office. Pretty awesome sleuthing skill, I've got. Oh great, now I sound like Yoda.

The man behind the desk had a white mop of hair adorning his head, something very unusual for this place seeing as almost everyone I've met so far was bald. A pair of oval glasses sat slightly atilt upon his crooked nose, and underneath, a bushy caterpillar. For those of you who don't know... A mustache. He had a white mustache. In fact, all his hair was white even though he had no wrinkles and didn't seem to be very old. He stood up, hands on his desk for support, and announced, "Maximum Ride. You are in the School. You will follow directions and not misbehave. Am I clear?"

"Crystal, your high lord Bachelder.

"How, may I ask, do you know my name?"

"Ur. It's on the nametag on the desk," I said pointing to the little gold plate sitting at the very front of his desk. Other than the sofa I had just been resting on and the mahogany desk with nothing but a computer, a nameplate, and a chair, there was nothing else in the room. The walls were white and the floor, wood. The only light came through a large window to the right, overlooking a courtyard currently filled with people in somewhat decent looking tracksuits or jumpsuits.

"Oh, I see. In that case, settle yourself down on the sofa, and don't try anything stupid. Mr. Bone here has quite a reputation of breaking children's arms and legs," Jeb said, pointing to the bulkiest man in the corner. Mr. Bone just grinned and winked at me. Ew.

"So, now that I know we're at the School since I've been told that, like, 50 times, what exactly is it we do here? Learn our ABC's and 123's because I already learned that in preschool."

"Maximum..."

"Please, call me Max. It's shorter and I wouldn't want to you to strain yourself trying to say my long name. You have a limited amount of breaths left anyway, How old are you? 80? 90?"

"Max! As I said before, you will listen and you will not misbehave!"

"Oh. Was that what you said? I thought you said 'you will not listen and you will misbehave.' Oops, my bad," I said with a smirk.

By now, Jeb's face was turning as red as a tomato. Not that I like tomatoes. Personally, I hate them. His glasses looked as if they were about to fall off, but his tinkly little voice still managed to croak, "Mr. Bone. If you would please escort Ms. Ride to her cell. I shall speak with her later, after she goes through treatment."

Mr. Bone just nodded before he and another of the bald bodyguards picked me up and carried me out of the door. I kicked and punched, trying to free myself but their firetrucking (See what I did there. It starts with f- and ends with -uck just like something else. Yeah, I didn't think so) muscles just rippled and they held on tighter. Well, I suppose struggling was no use. I went limp in Mr. Bone's arms, probably much to his surprise because his grip loosened leaving me with just enough room to wriggle out. So, that's exactly what I did. After stumbling onto the floor, I launched myself into a full speed sprint with Mr. Bone and his accomplices chasing after me.

I ran straight down the hall. It was never-ending. White walls, clean corridors. It was too... sterile, too fake. It just didn't seem right, but I kept running. 10 min, 15 min. I kept running. The footsteps behind me were slowly fading away and, I was starting to feel thankful for all the conditioning my soccer coach made us do. 20 min. 25 min. Still running. Up ahead, the hallway finally branched off into two different hallways. Hopefully, there would be some rooms or something because I was starting to feel tired. I took a chance to glance behind me. No one there. I slowed to a stop, hands on my knees and panting heavily.

The scene still hadn't changed. White walls were everywhere, surrounding me. Suffocating me. I heard a door open from somewhere down the hall. I whipped around, ready to run back and take the other route, but I slammed into a giant wall. Ugh, when did that get there? I looked up. Whoops. My bad. It wasn't a wall. It was Mr. Bone.

I turned around again to start running away, but he grabbed my arm and yanked it towards him. I let out a little yelp.

"Where do you think you're going Ms. Ride? We wouldn't want you to get lost in this huge, forbidding place now would we?" Mr. Bone snarled.

"Oh. I appreciate your concern Mr. Bone, but I have a built in GPS so I don't get lost. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be on my way now. Goodbye!"

I turned around only to be yanked back again.

"Oh, Ms. Ride. Why don't I show you to your room first. You're looking a little red and tired."

"No thanks to you, my dear Mr. Bone. I'll have to take a rain check on that. I'm afraid my mother will be looking for me."

"Oh, your mother thinks you're dead, Ms. Ride. There's no one to help you now," he grinned a menacing grin.

What? My mom thought I was dead. What about Ella and Dad? And J.J. and Sam? Dylan is a bastard; I don't care about him, but what about the rest of the school? This couldn't be happening. Even if I escaped here, I would never be able to go back to my normal life. It wouldn't be possible. I slumped against the floor, all the energy drained out of me. Tears threatened to spill down my face as my eyes watered. Everything. Gone. In just a few days. What about the trial? Weren't my parents there? Didn't they see me alive?

Mr. Bone just laughed, "Come on little lady. Let's get you back to your room so you can stay here for a really long time. We'll have so much fun here."

I didn't have the will or the energy to come up with some sort of witty response with my usual sarcasm so I just let him pick me up, sling me over his shoulder, and carry me down the hallway. He walked for a really long time, but I didn't pay any attention. My mind was still swimming with all the questions I had.

He knocked on the wall. A white, empty, blank wall. And he knocked on it. My curiosity got the best of me and I craned my neck at an awkward angle just in time to see a door appear out of the wall. A door. In the wall. Of course! Why didn't I see that before?

I let out an exasperated sigh and let my head hang.

"Are we there yet? Your muscles are hurting me," I whined.

They seriously were though. They were sticking out at all kinds of weird angles digging into my... you know... um chest area. I don't know about you guys out there, but frankly, it does hurt when those things are being squashed. First hand experience right here. Though it's not like any guys would be reading this because who wants to know about the depressing, crappy life of a little lady.

"Get used to it! This is a prison. We're not entirely big on comfort and the sooner you realize that, the better," Mr. Bone barked.

He stepped into the passageway that branched from the main hallway and through the open door. Unlike the main hallway though, this one was dark. Like pitch black. The only reason I could see in front of me was because of the light flooding in from the main hallway. When the door closed, however, I couldn't see shit. Heck, I couldn't even see my hand 2 cm from my nose!

"This is dark. Where are the lights?" Yeah, I know. I'm not the most subtle person out there. Hello, Captain Obvious.

"Awww... is the little Maxie-paxie afwaid of the dark?" Mr. Bone teased.

"You call me Maxie-paxie or even Maxie again and I will personally rip out your tounge and shove it down your throat. Let see you talking again," I growled, practically seething with anger. I hated when people called me anything other than Max.

"Oh. I'm trembling with fear. I'm so scared of you Maxie," Mr. Bone snarled, shaking his body for affect. The shaking only managed to make me dizzy and mad after I slammed my head into his rock hard back.

"I'm warning you! Once I get out of these freaking muscles, I will punch your face off!"

"Good luck with that Maxie. Until then: please keep all hands and feet inside the vehicles at all times. Thank you for riding the Ari express and we hope you enjoy the ride. Of course, this isn't much of a ride compared to what I would give you if I had my way."

"FREAKING PERVERT MUCH!" I screamed, slamming my fists into his back.

Mr. Bone just laughed,"Is that all you got? What about my amazing sense of humor?"

"Your name is Ari?" I suddenly questioned. For some reason he didn't look like an Ari. What? People can look like their names. You got a problem with that.

"Yeah, so what?" He suddenly snarled," Just be glad you got stuck with me. If I were anyone else, you would be really beaten up by now."

"Ari Bone. Interesting name. Sounds like a dog's name," I snickered.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want. You won't have much time for laughing after this," he growled. He sounded very pissed. Gee, I hope he wasn't mad at me. Cue innocent little girl's smile.

Ari reached into the darkness and pushed open another door which I didn't notice was there (What was with all these invisible doors?) and led me into a large room, complete with tables littered with test tubes and other scientific equipment. There were children, some younger than me by a lot others around my age, on tables with men in whitecoats leaning over them. Next to a blonde kid with a tattered hospital gown was Ichabod Crane and Mr. Pudgekins. Oh great, a torturer reunion. See what I did there. Instead of family, because they aren't my family, I replaced it with torturers. Yeah, I didn't think so.

"Welcome, Max, to the school."

"Yeah, I know where I am. Thank you, Captain Obvious."

"Whatever Max. When you're here, I suggest you hold your tongue and do not say anything because otherwise you're not going to last to long," Ari said with a grin.

Now I'm not usually one to be intimidated and I'm not sure if it was all the chemicals in the air or anything, but I gulped.

I'm not afraid to admit, but I do regret having to; I was actually scared.

* * *

><p><strong>Tada! The end of Chapter 5. So, what do you guys think. It took me really long time, and its not even that long. Oh well.<strong>

**Review and do check out my facebook page if you have the time. Link is on my profile. Thank you for being such awesome readers and reviewers!**

**I only got like 6 reviews last chapter so can we do a little better and aim for 6 reviews. 10 for a quicker update. I'm already half way done with chapter 6 so I'll update that before next week if I do get 10 reviews! Thank you again!**

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**~~~~xia~~~~**


	6. The Lost

**Thank you so much for your reviews! I know I haven't been the best writer, but I am going to update a lot quicklier. I'm still kinda upset for only 5 reviews last chapter, but oh well. Hopefully, I'll get chapter 7 done quickly too. Thank you! **

**Thank you so much for being awesome reviewers. I know I haven't updated quick enough, but don't blame me. Blame College. Actually don't. You guys didn't get that from me. Go to college, get smart, GET MONEY :)... yeah. Life lesson for the day, but whatever. **

**Hey, look. A unicorn. I think I'm going to keep it. I have no idea where that just came from. **

**And a pony. OK! DID SOMEONE LEAVE A ZOO UNLOCKED SOMEWHERE. That reminds me:**

**If you own a zoo... Review. If you've been to a zoo... Review. If you're reading this shit... Review. If you are alive... REVIEW! So basically... Review! Kay.. Thanks guys. You are all awesome. I seriously hope I'm not inflating your ego. That would be bad. Very bad. **

* * *

><p>Ari dragged me through the halls, twisting and turning into narrow passageways with no light only to come into a large, still empty hallway flooded with so much light that I went blind.<p>

I was getting bored, so I passed time by poking Ari and screaming random shit.

"Winnie the POOH! Wait. Shouldn't it be Winnie the shit? Or Winnie the Ari because Ari is shit?"

That was one example of the random, pointless stuff I screamed. That particular comment earned me a really red bum. No, not like that. Get your minds out of the freaking gutter people! Ari just dropped me on the floor, and I landed on my rear-end. Simple as that. However, he did pick me back up after the drop and continue carrying me through the wonderful world of lollipops, sugarplums, and wombats. Don't blame me. Wombats are cool. Ugly, but cool.

By the time an hour had passed, I was ready to go to sleep. My eyes were drooping, my face hurt from yawning ever couple minutes, and I was struggling to stay awake. The worst part was I was starting to feel delusional.

"Hey! Look! It's a Penguin!" I screamed.

"Where?" Ari asked.

"Right there! In the corner! Next to the wonderful Fairy of Squares!"

"Ok?"

"Can't you see it?"

"No."

"Whatever. I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight, and I deeply hope the bedbugs do bite," I said sincerely.

"Too bad Max. You can't sleep because we're here," Ari said turning one last corner.

Just great. Way to ruin my nap, Ari. Hey, look at the postive side. What positive side? We're finally here. Oh yeah, we are. Wait. Was I having a conversation with myself? Yes, you were. Dammit! I really need to sleep.

All of a sudden, Ari started laughing.

"What?" I yelled, lifting my head and glaring at him. That really wasn't the smartest thing though because I ended up glaring at his ass, since that was currently where my head was. Wait, no. That came out wrong. I was looking at his back because I was slung over his shoulder and my head was facing his back/ ass area. Yeah. It's not like it was cute or anything.

"You just said all that out loud."

"What?" I said again, this time in surprise.

"Yup, but anyway. We are here."

I turned my head around at an awkward angle and peered past his back into the area in front of him. There was a pretty big sized, circular room with 3 semi-large cells all placed at different points so that they were all facing each other. Ari walked over to the closet one and punched in a code. The door slid open noisily.

Ari threw me into the room; like actually, literally threw me into the room and walked off, leaving me alone in a dark room with nothing to do.

The room, or cell I should probably call it, wasn't too bad. There was a bunk bed in the corner (a bunk bed. I was internally squealing with joy and giddiness.) and a door leading to what probably was a bathroom opposite the entrance. On the left wall was a window. The first window I had seen since Jeb's office. I walked over to the window staring out at the hills and plain fields in the distance, already dreaming about the day I would get to leave this hellhole.

Sleep got the better of me, however, and I walked over to the bunk bed ready to hit the sack.

* * *

><p>I plopped onto the bottom bunk expecting a comfy mattress, (I know it was a prison, but they looked rich and the least they could do was buy a freaking bed) but fell on something hard instead. Well, I guess that expectation went down the drain.<p>

I bounced up and down once more, trying to get the feel of an uncomfortable bed, but paused when I heard a little,"Oomph."

I glanced around then slowly peeled back the cover to reveal dark black, obsidian eyes.

"AHH!" I jumped back, startled, still staring at those dark eyes. They were hard like night and mysterious. Nothing swam in those eyes. They were emotionless, almost dead, but intoxicating. Deep, almost deep enough to drown in. Wow, when did I become a poet.

The dark eyes stared at me, slowly combing over my body like they had all the time in the world.

I stepped back, suddenly conscious I was sharing my cell with a boy.

He pulled back the covers and slowly yet gracefully lifted himself off the bed. He had olive skin and shaggy black hair that fell over his eyes. He looked ruffled, but that made him look even hotter than possible. He stepped out of bed. I could see his abs through his tight shirt and the muscles. His body was lean and muscular and tall, probably 6', but not bulky, and once again, hot. Hot, hot, hot.

I gasped and put my hand over my mouth to cover up for the fact that I was practically drooling.

"I'm sharing a prison cell with a boy!" I practically screeched.

Tall, dark, and handsome just stared at me. He got up off the bed and walked over to the wall in the back, folded his arms against his chest. He just leaned back, completely relaxed with the whole situation. His body was hiding in the shadows since the lights weren't on and with all his black clothing, he looked practically invisible.

He still didn't say anything. No sexist comments, no flirtatious attempts which I would very rudely dispose of, nothing.

I turned around and walked up to the bars. The cell may be quite modern and by that I mean it had a bathroom, but they didn't miss out on the opportunity to remind us we were prisoners.

"HEY!" I called out, hoping to catch the attention of a guard and force him to put me in another cell. No response.

"Hey, Ari!" I yelled again. This time, Ari came down the hallway and stopped in front of the bars, hands on his belt prepared to deal with any threat. When he saw me, he just smirked.

"Yes your highness. Why do I have the pleasure of being summoned?" He asked, completing his charade with a fake accent and a bow.

"Yo! Why do I have to share a cell with a guy? Hmm. I'm a girl; don't you think I need my own privacy too? Why can't you just give me my own cell so I can do my things in private without worrying about a hormonal teenage boy trying to sneak a peek?" All my sleep was thrown out the window. I was sharing my cell with a boy!

"I'm sorry Miss Ride, this is for convenience. You are in the special cases section of the building and you are partnered this way for a reason. But, feel free to communicate with the other special cases," he said, gesturing to the empty cages around the room. "I suggest you get to know your new roommate for you will be bunking with him for quite a while," Ari said formally while smirking.

I'm guessing there were cameras hidden somewhere in here for Ari to have spoke so politely to me. Great, just what I needed. A bunch of old dudes in the 60's and 50's watching me change and sleep. Totally not pedophile-ish, I thought, rolling my eyes.

"Ugh. Fine." I turned around to find Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome, still propped up against the wall. I walked up to him and stuck my hand out. "Max."

Before he could answer, Ari took the opportunity to tease me.

"Aw. Is Maximum Ride actually listening to what I told her to do?" He asked, gasping with mock surprise.

"Piss off, Ari," I retorted, ignoring the previous comment.

"Fine," and with that, Ari walked away.

My hand was still extended to the guy in black, but he looked at it as if it had cooties on it. Seriously, what is this guy? 5?

I raised an eyebrow. I have always been proud of myself for being able to do that. "Any name that you had once upon a time, like a Bob, Joe, or maybe even Ezekiel would be helpful."

He just shrugged.

"Not a man of many words then, I see. Well, in that case, I get bottom bunk and you get top and since you can't speak, there will be no arguments." Did I mention there was a bunk bed. Oh yeah, I did. I'm still internally screaming with joy.

"Bottom's mine."

"Ah, so you do speak."

I swear I could see his lips quirk up but it could have been a trick of the light. "What's your name then?"

He shrugged.

"Back to the no talking thing I see. Well, in that case I will call you Pink and Purple Unicorn with Sparkles and Ribbons. Such a manly name for such a manly guy. Wouldn't you agree?"

I turned around, walking over to the bunk bed to claim my prize.

"Fang."

I looked at him. "What?"

He pointed to himself and said again, "Fang."

I burst out laughing, "You're kidding right. I mean you look like a total vampire with that hotness, mysteriousness, and emo personality, but then you say your name is Fang. The girls in this universe must be swooning over you Mr. Cullen." Yeah. I do watch Twilight, and just to make it even more realistic, I dramatically swooned and fell on the bottom bed.

He just looked at me. This time I know his mouth quirked up. He pointed at the bed, still not moving from his wall, "Bottom's mine."

"I think I'm going to name that wall you're leaning on Fang's wall. Then you can post pictures and I can leave comments since obviously you are not going to talk to me to tell me anything about yourself other than the fact that you are a vampire and you like the bottom. Where are your sparkles, Mr. Vampire. Left them at your last victims house." I said.

"Oh, and the bottom is mine, just to let you know. If you want you are going to have to make me move," I continued.

From here I could barely see his face, but I could swear his eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint. Not a good sign. He left the wall and walked over to me on the bed. I curled up deeper into the blankets. They were so soft.

Then he did something I never expected him to do. He put his arms underneath me while I was curled up in the blankets and lifted me off the bed with ease. I was fairly light, but I expected him to make at least some noise indicating it took a little effort.

I could feel the strong arms underneath me as I wiggled trying to get away from them. I flailed my arms and kicked my legs, but Fang just clutched me tighter against his chest and then raised me higher and higher until I was above his head.

I stopped moving. I was balanced precariously on his hands and I didn't really want to fall down onto the marble tile floor.

I tilted my head to look at Fang. He wasn't even struggling. He tilted his hands forward and I screamed as I fell forward into the air only to land on a soft foamy mattress, still wrapped in blankets. I was on the top bunk. I guess he had found a way to make me move.

I yawned. Ugh, my sleep had returned. That sounded like the name of a superhero movie: "The Return of the Sleep" starring Maximum Ride! Eh. I'd get my revenge later. Right now, I was too sleepy. So I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Fang POV:<p>

I woke up to the feeling of someone or something bouncing up and down on my stomach, knocking the breath out of me. So I did what anyone would do in this situation, "Oomph!"

Let me tell you... not my favorite way to be woken up. However, when the bouncing stopped and after the covers were lifted off my face revealing a really hot teenage girl, I decided I was okay with that. It's not everyday you are woken up by a sexy girl trying to hump your stomach. Hey! I'm a hormonal teenage boy with a lot of testosterone. Don't judge.

I changed my mind after she screamed though. I couldn't stand loud noises. I preferred the quietness, but even I occasionally had to blend in with a crowd; me even more so than others.

I walked over to the back wall trying to merge into the shadows and avoid the girl screaming her head off.

I winced as she called a guard over, I think his name was Ari, and started ranting about how she had to share a cell with a guy. I'm not complaining, but I'm not gonna share my cell with a crybaby. I've got standards, low standards, but standards all the same. A totally bang-able slut I could maybe deal with, a nerdy backwater kid too, but a fucking spoiled brat. Nuh uh. Absolutely not.

The conversation ended, and I'm pretty sure she didn't get her way because she stomped over to where I was standing and stuck her hand out.

"Max," she grumbled. I just stared at the hand.

"Aw. Is Maximum Ride actually listening to what I told her to do?" Ari asked, gasping with mock surprise.

"Piss off, Ari," she retorted, ignoring the previous comment.

"Fine," and with that, Ari walked away.

Her hand was still extended. She obviously did not get that I was not going to shake it.

"Any name that you had once upon a time, like a Bob, Joe, or maybe even Ezekiel would be helpful," she said raising an eyebrow. Damn. That was sexy. Maybe I misjudged her. She did look really hot. She had perfect curves and large ones too. Her torn outfit revealed the her flat stomach and the smooth skin underneath her chest. Her hair bounced in little dirty blonde waves while her dark, chocolate eyes stared at me, twinkling with a little annoyance. Perfect, I though smirking.

On the outside though, I just shrugged.

"Not a man of many words then, I see. Well, in that case, I get bottom bunk and you get top and since you can't speak, there will be no arguments."

"Bottom's mine," I said. That surprised me. I usually never speak. What was it about this girl that made me say that? Or was it just the fact that the bottom bunk was special and mine?

"Ah, so you do speak."

My lips quirked up the slightest bit, but I quickly forced them back into an unemotional line.

"What's your name then?"

I shrugged.

"Back to the no talking thing I see. Well, in that case I will call you Pink and Purple Unicorn with Sparkles and Ribbons. Such a manly name for such a manly guy. Wouldn't you agree?"

Oh, she was good, but I will not lose my manliness to a stubborn girl.

She started walking toward the bunk bed before I managed to say, "Fang."

She turned around and looked strangely at me, "What?"

I pointed to myself and said again, "Fang."

She burst out laughing. Her laugh was so twinkling and light and airy and wonderful... I did not just say that.

"You're kidding right. I mean you look like a total vampire with that hotness, mysteriousness, and emo personality, but then you say your name is Fang. The girls in this universe must be swooning over you Mr. Cullen," she said swooning, probably to add some more "Oomph."

I just looked at her. Where on Earth did they find this girl? I grinned. Or at least as much as a grin as I could do meaning the tips of my lips quirked up. I saw a flash of recognition and I knew she saw me grin. Darn! Oh, whatever...

I pointed at the bed, still not moving from my wall, "Bottom's mine."

"I think I'm going to name that wall you're leaning on Fang's wall. Then you can post pictures and I can leave comments since obviously you are not going to talk to me to tell me anything about yourself other than the fact that you are a vampire and you like the bottom. Where are your sparkles, Mr. Vampire. Left them at your last victims house," she said smiling.

"Oh, and the bottom is mine, just to let you know. If you want you are going to have to make me move," she continued as she lay down onto the bed.

Ooh. A challenge. I love challenges. Oh, it's on. I have this... let's call it ability or habit... to cause mischief anywhere and everywhere, so when she challenged me, my eyes snuggled deeper into the blankets. This was going to be a piece of cake. I walked over and scooped her up right off the bed blankets and all. Her small body fit perfectly in my hands. I didn't want to let her go.

She automatically resisted, wriggling in all directions, but I tightened my grip on her and clutched her to my chest. Not a smart move. I could smell her, she smelt so good. and then lifted her into the air, she stopped. Her body was warm and comfortable. It reminded me of something. Something I miss, but don't recall.

She was now balanced on the tips of my hands way over the top of the bed, the muscles in my arm rippling as she trembled slightly. She glanced down at me, her eyes full of worry. I had done this plenty of times. In fact, you don't become a internationally known assassin with weak muscles. Yeah, I was an assassin, and my next "mission" was inside this school ergo the need to be arrested, but enough about my life and back to the hot girl in my arms.

I tilted my hands forward, and she fell out of my grip and onto the mattress on the top bunk. I smirked, knowing I had my way and slowly backed away.

I heard a short yawn, and when I checked, the girl was asleep. Wow, that was fast. World's best sleeper right here Guinness.

I lay down on my bottom bunk, staring at the depression made my the girl above me. Well, actually at the depression of the girl's ass. Once again: hormonal teenage boy right here.

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><p><strong>Thank you so much for reading. HEE HEE :) Fang's here! Ok, So I might do the next chapter in Fang's point of view too, but I'm not exactly sure yet. <strong>

**Feel free to ask me questions and stuff, and yeah. Review!**

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**~ ~ ~ ~ Xia ~ ~ ~ ~**


	7. The Silent

****oK! I KNOW THIS LOOKS LIKE A CHAPTER UPDATE BUT I DIDN'T CHANGE ANYTHING! I JUST ACCIDENTALLY PUT ITALICS SO I DELETED IT AND FIXED IT! SORRY FOR GETTING SOME OF YOUR HOPES UP! AND FOR THOSE WHO HAVENT READ IT YET! READ IT!****

**I'm happy (: - See, I'm happy. I actually got the number of reviews I wanted; More! Even! I got 17 reviews! That's the most I've got since I restarted and updated this story! **

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**Ok, so you know the unicorn I found last chapter... well, it was cute so I named it Geronimina because it's a girl. SAY HI: **

**gERonomina, " Neighhh...!"**

**Kay, I don't own Maximum Ride but sometimes I wish I did so I could get all the money Mr. Patterson earned. **

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><p><em>Fang P.O.V<em>

She actually fell asleep.

I did not expect that. Oh, whatever. No point on dwelling on it.

As I was staring at the wonderful ass above me, I drifted off into my usual wonderland full of bazookas, guns, knives, blood... you know, the usual.

Just then I heard some clanging noises outside the cell. The two guards came in carrying a strawberry blonde boy with pale blue eyes. He was tall but not as tall as me, he was good-looking (Does that make me sound gay?) but not sexy as me, and he had showing muscles but he was probably not as strong as me.

What can I say? With everything I have, it's hard not to be proud of it and brag.

The guards shoved him in the empty cell opposite ours. He looked out and yelled some very creative choice words at the guards while threateningly shaking his fist in the thin air. He seriously looked like he had come out of a comic book.

The guards laughed, "Who does this little fucker think he is? Superman? Trying to cuss at us and tell us what to do. What a dumbass!"

They slowly started walking away when the white boy removed his Jordans- they looked about 4 years old and were practially falling apart- and threw it at the nearest guard, hitting him right on the head.

Bonkers- that's what I'm going to call him- started snickering. Guard #1, the one who just got smacked in the head with a shoe, turned around and glared at him. Guard #1 stomped back towards the cell Bonkers' shoe in his hand while Bonkers slunk towards the back of the cell trying to hide in the shadows. No offense or anything, but he was so white, that he failed miserably.

Guard #1 stuck his hand threw the bars on the door and threw the boy's shoe right back at him. At the last second, Bonkers dodged the shoe and flew into the corner.

He stood up, dusting himself off. Then out of nowhere he started yelling, "Na, na, na, na, na! You missed me! Na, na, na, na, na!" He danced around and placed his thumb on his nose wiggling the rest of his fingers at the guard. He hopped around and shook his ass at the guard, still singing and clearly not paying attention.

By now, Guard #1 was flaming red while the other guard was smiling in amuzement and watching the whole thing go down.

During Bonkers dance, right at the shaking his ass part, Guard #1 removed his shoe, took aim, and released hitting Bonkers right smack on his dancing cheeks. For those of you who didn't get that: his tushie. Bonkers, caught in the middle of an unbalanced dance move, toppled right over.

"OUCH! What was that for?" Bonkers yelled, straitening himself out while rubbing his ass. Even I was smiling or you know, Fang smiling, by now. The guards however were full out laughing, rolling on the floor, and clutching their sides.

After a couple minutes, the guards finally left, one of them with both shoes on, and the other still missing one shoe.

I watched Bonkers for a couple minutes as he paced around his cell kicking the floor and 'accidentally' stubbing his toe, and then I watched as he was hopping around the cell clutching his poor, injured baby (foot). His words, not mine. Well the translation for baby was, but you get my point!

After a while, Bonkers finally seemed to notice me peering out from behind the bars. Wow, that made me sound like a creep/stalker. I could totally imagine that! I mean me looking like those people from the song The Creep by the Lonely Island... yeah, not the best picture. Hey! Just cause I'm an assassin, doesn't mean I hate music! In fact my favorite song would have to be Knives and Pens by Black Veiled Brides. Too Morbid?

"Hey. What ya looking at?"

Huh, what just happened? Oh, Bonkers asked me a question. What was the question? Best not to answer. So I did what I always do:

I just shrugged.

"Ok then, what's your name?"

I shrugged again.

"You don't know your name?" He practically screamed, covering his FAKE gasp with his hand.

"Fang," I guess the whole not ever talking thing was pretty much blown.

He stared at me for a couple seconds then burst out laughing.

"Fang. You're kidding right?"

I just shook my head.

"What are you, a vampire?" He asked still laughing at my name.

I groaned internally as I walked back to my wall. Not this again.

* * *

><p>Well, then, a vampire. That's new. Better than Emo Boy I suppose. I flipped off my new jail-mate-person anyways on my way back to my wall. Hm. Guess Max was right.<p>

"Well, rude much, but since it's your first time dealing with the Igster, I'll let it slide," the boy said trying to act cool, but failing miserably.

"Igster?"

"Yeah, my name is Iggy. Short for: What the hell were my parents thinking when they named me the dumbest name on the planet."

I just raised an eyebrow.

"I'm guessing you want to know what my real name is. It's Ignacio, but if you call me that and I will personally castrate you or to rub salt in wounds, I will make my grandma castrate you." He said with an evil grin on his face.

"So what did you to get you landed in here?" He continued. That boy would not shut up!

I glared at him.

"Ok. Sorry I asked, but since I love to talk about myself, I will tell you what I did, I mean seriously how can you not talk about and brag about all this?" He said gesturing to his body.

Max stirred in her sleep. I glanced back at her. She looked so cute. Where the fuck did that come from?

I tore my gaze away from Max just as Iggy started talking. God please save me from this torture! I did not sign up for this. Totally something I could imagine on my grave headstone thing. Here lies Fang; killed by a never-ending, talking boy with reddish hair.

"Kay, so it all started when I became a pyro. I mean how can you not love fire and bombs. So yeah. Anyways, I had stolen some stuff from local shops and managed to build a pretty big bomb. It was quite the beauty, so I decided to test it out at the mall. And you may be wondering where my parents are, well they're dead and I'm a runaway orphan. Back to the mall, the bomb created a really big blast and there was fire everywhere and alarms were ringing. It was almost beautiful, I just hope I didn't hurt someone. And, then the cops came and arrested me and here I am." He said finishing his long rant with jazz hands.

I just nodded. I tuned him out at the part where he said "It all started…"

Apparently he figured that out.

"Hey, did you hear a word I said?" He asked waving his hands in front of my face which was like 10 feet away so it didn't really do anything.

I just nodded, not bothering to talk.

Just then two guards entered the court area, circle place, thing, that we were locked it with a girl in between them. She was kicking and yelling pretty loud, lashing at the guards holding her hostage. I could visibly see the strain on their face; obviously she was putting up a fight.

The guards carried her along, all the way to Iggy's jail cell. One guard released one arm while trying to punch in the code to unlock the door, but that was all the gurl needed.

She broke free and started running down the hallway the way they came. Almost immediately, however, the second guard launched himself at her and tackled her down just like in football.

The girl was smushed underneath the weight of the man, and I'm pretty sure she broke a few bones. The other guard rejoined the one who tackled the girl and together they shoved her through the open door and into the cell with Iggy.

She slumped against the bars, her hair falling over her face. I suppose she was kind of pretty, no way close to Max but still.

She was African American with mocha skin and dark black curls flowing from her head. Her eyes were large and brown and I'm pretty sure there was a lot of muscle underneath her high cheekbones. I could practically see it rippling as she hunched sobbing. Her arms and legs were muscled and toned, hiding underneath a full-sleeve, orange shirt with a skull and bow embellished onto it.

Iggy, being the gentleman that he is walked up to her and put her hands on her shoulders.

She looked up, eyes flaring, and immediately pushed him away. Ooh, feisty. I like feisty.

"Hey I was just trying to help!" He yelled, obviously hurt by the rejection.

"Yeah, well I don't need your help!" She yelled back, getting up on her feet and standing her ground.

"Well it damn sure looked like you could use some comforting!"

"I didn't need comforting! I was just trying to calm myself down, otherwise I would have broken something, and the only breakable thing in this room is you!"

"Oh yeah! I would like to see you try and break me. Come at me Bro!"

This went on for a while so I just walked over to my bed, the bottom bunk I might add, lay down and stared at the ceiling or in this case, Max's ass. Damn, she does have a good one on her.

* * *

><p><strong>Max Pov<strong>

I woke up to the sound of loud yelling and arguing. From candy canes and sugarplums and la-la-land to waking up in a jail cell by arguing people, wow. Definitely my idea of the perfect wake-up call.

I opened my eyes, rubbing away the sleep with my hands. The yelling was still loud and perfectly clear. I placed the hands that had just rubbed the sleep out of my eyes onto my ears.

I smiled a little as I though about what the yelling meant. Tee hee... Fang's the only one here so he must be arguing with himself. I want to see that, but wait. Isn't Fang the macho silent guy who doesn't speak a word of English except for 'Bottom's mine'? How could he - better, Why would he- be arguing with himself?

I pulled off the covers and stretched out my tired limbs while yawning. I threw my feet off the bed and jumped off.

Fang was still lying in bed staring at the bottom of the top bunk. He slowly, emphasis on slowly, moved his eyes towards me as if he had all the time in the world. I hate it when he does that. It's like he's the king of the world, and he has doesn't have any respect for anyone else or their time but his time and himself.

"Would you stop doing that!"

"Doing what?" He smirked. Dang, that was hot.

I shook my head. I had just gotten out of one relationship, I don't think it's time to start another one.

"That! Where your eyes move slowly like you have all the time in the world, like you have nothing to be excited about!"

For a second there I thought I could see something flicker across his eyes but his smirk was still plastered on his face. "Jealous."

"You wish." I scoffed. Then I realized why I had woken up. "Do you know who was kind enough to wake me up with their constant yelling?" I asked listening around.

I just then realized that the arguing had stopped.

Fang smirked and got out of bed. He walked to the bars and pointed at the empty cell across from us. Correction once empty cell. Now there were 2 people one boy and one girl.

"Our lovely neighbors," Fang said, extending his hands in their direction as if he was welcoming into a house or something, and introducing me to the couple in the cell across.

I walked over to the cell and peered out.

"How old are you?" I asked them. They looked young; they couldn't be much older than me.

"16, but I'll be 17 in a few months and then I'll get out of this hellhole and celebrate my birthday in an arcade with all kinds of cool games and win prizes. You know my friends tell me I act like a 5 year old but I don't think so. What do you think? Do you think I act…" her rant was cut off by the boy's hand. I swear she said all that in just one breath.

"I'm 17." The boy said. I looked back at Fang.

"How about you?"

He held up 10 fingers.

"You're 10?" I asked disbelievingly.

He shook his head and added 7 fingers.

"7?"

He shook his head again. This time, he put up 10 fingers and then quickly replaced those 10 fingers with 7 fingers. 10+7=17! Oh, great job Max! You know how to do math. That's just bloody brilliant! Now I'm making fun of myself using my own sarcasm. What a cruel world it is.

"17?

Fang nodded.

"I see we are still not passed the no talking point except for the part you very kindly and politely introduced me to out neightbors," I said, my voice oozing sarcasm.

He just shrugged.

"Sooooo… Who are you guys, and how long have you been arguing?" I asked, turning back to them.

The boy answered first, "I'm Iggy, but you can call me Prince Charming or The Man of Your Dreams," he said with a wink. I rolled my eyes and groaned.

"I'm Nudge…" She was immediately cut off by Iggy's hand before she launched into another rant. Smart Move.

"And we've been arguing for about," Iggy looked at wrist where apparently an imaginary or invisible watch was sitting because his wrist was as bare as a baby's butt," 3 hours, 23 minutes, and 46 seconds. 47 seconds. 48 seconds. 49 seco..."

"Ok! OK! I get it! Jeez! The name's Ride by the way. Maximum Ride, and how did I manage to sleep through all your noise!"

"Oh. I don't know and would you be willing to prove that to me?" Iggy said. His eyebrow raised and a smirk on his face. I stared at the smirk; It wasn't as hot as Fang's. Then I realized what he said.

"You sick pervert." I yelled. He started laughing, doubling over and clutching his stomach, and Nudge just looked at Iggy with horror. Then she mouthed the words "help me" to me. One look at Nudge's face and I started cracking up and rolling on the floor.

So right now, we had 2 people having a laughing fest on the floor and 2 people who stared at us with shining eyes. Nudge, of course, wasn't laughing because she was the one stuck with Iggy, and Fang being Fang just looked at us with no expression on his face.

Through my fits of laughter, I finally managed to ask Iggy a question,"How did you know what time it was exactly!"

"It's..." Iggy broke off laughing, "A gift!"

I started laughing even harder, at what, I have no clue. Maybe because I saw Iggy's face. Trust me, he had a very funny face.

If I had not been laughing on the floor and taken the time to stare hard at Fang's face, I would have discovered that there was the teensiest smile adorning his face.

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><p><strong>And i know i wrote this before but still:<strong>

**THANK YOU SO MUCH! I GOT 17 REVIEWS FOR THE LAST CHAPTER AND I ONLY ASKED FOR 10! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I'M REALLLY REALLY HAPPY AND I'M ESPECIALLY HAPPY THAT I'M UPDATING FASTER! THE MORE REVIEWS MEANS THAT YOU GUYS DON'T HATE ME ANYMORE! THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

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	8. The Perverted

**SORRY. I KNOW I ALREADY ADDED THIS CHAPTER BUT THEN I REALIZED IT WAS ALL IN ITALICS, SO I RE-ADDED IT!**

**Thank you soooo much! **

**I know I haven't update like promised, but that's because I needed time to come up with amazingly funny jokes. Sike. I just haven't had the time. I'm about to go to college in New York and all that jazz... So yeah. Life's busy. **

**But Whateverr... **

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**Ok... SO NOW on with the story.**

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><p><em>Max P.O.V.<em>

My sides ached from laughing so hard. Nudge just stared at Iggy, the shocked look still evident on her face. With some effort, I managed to stop laughing long enough for me to push myself off the floor.

My face was wet though, covered in tears that leaked through my eyes from laughing so hard.

Iggy peered out through his bars, still trying to contain his laughter and succeeding long enough to blurt out, "No, seriously. Can you prove it to me?"

I stared at him. "No!" I screamed.

He responded by immediately launching into another fit of raucous - don't look at me, I don't even know what the word means- laughter.

I humphed, crossing my arms over my chest and pouting, just as an interesting idea started forming in my mind.

I ran back to the bed, grabbed Fang's pillow, and threw it through the bars. It hit Iggy right on the face and knocked him backwards.

Wow. Who knew a pillow could knock someone over, especially if that guy was kind of a hunk. Never mind, forget I said that.

"Aw. A pillow from the Great Ride! I think I'm going to keep it forever, and at night I can pretend it's a pretty girl and kiss it until it explodes. I'm even going to name it Maxine, after the wonderful Max," Iggy stated, winking at me and holding the pillow up as if it were his precious baby.

To make matters even stranger, he began to make out with it. All kinds of noises coming from his throat, and I'm pretty sure he had a boner considering the large lump that formed in his pants, NOT that I was looking or anything.

Let me say that again, Iggy was turned on by a pillow that was named after me.

"Ew! Iggy! Gross!" Nudge screamed, crushing herself against the wall furthest away from Iggy.

Fang, on the other hand, just glared at me, obviously upset that I had stolen his pillow. In fact, he stomped to the bed, grabbed my pillow off the top bunk, and dumped it onto his bed. Then very slowly, he sat on my pillow. Let me repeat that again; he sat on MY pillow. Of all the firetrucking inhumanities in the world, why did he have to sit on my pillow? Now my pillow was covered by his ass germs, but his ass is kind of cute I have to admit.

Did I just say that? Oh whatever, I know I'm not looking for another guy to break my heart, but it's true. He had a delicious ass. It was all round and curvy... Ok, this is not the best time to be thinking about his ass.

Naturally I did what I would have done in this kind of situation, I launched myself at him screaming, "AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! WHY DID YOU SIT ON MY PILLOW YOU PENGUIN EATING FREAK!"

I charged right into him knocking him down onto his bed with me on top of him, straddling his hips and punching his chest -his rock hard, chest- until my fists hurt.

"Give me back my pillow!" I yelled, still punching him.

"No," he said, staring right into my eyes and not even flinching the slightest bit at my punches.

After 5 consecutive minutes of punching him, I got up, my hands red and my breathing hard and uneven, and walked backed to the bars.

Iggy being his charming self, was still making out with the pillow. The noises had stopped thankfully, but there was now a trail of drool dripping down his chin and beginning to form a puddle on the floor.

I groaned.

Fang being the Fang he is, just stood up, dusted off his chest, and walked up next to me, a couple bars down.

"Are you guys done now?" Nudge asked, "Because I have a long rant that I wanna launch into."

"Yeah," I panted out.

Nudge opened her mouth and began to talk. Oh no, bad idea.

"OMG! Max! You have an awesome throwing hand and its very powerful too! You should try out for a basket- no football- team but they probably won't let you because you're a girl. Oh well. Wait. Hey, you could be the first girl professional football player and get a lot of money and then me and Iggy- even though he's totally gross and acting like a total dick right now- and the guy behind you could cheer you on if we ever got out of jail. Which reminds me… who is that boy behind you? He is really hot. He could be like a movie star or something and then be famous and rich. Oh! What if you two got married? Then you guys could be the world's richest couple or something. And what is wrong with him? He didn't cry at all when you were punching him. Maybe he's a robot. That would be awkward, sharing a cell with a robot. OMG! What if he is the first robot in the start of the apocalypse! It could be the end of the world! I need to save Madge and my makeup and my clothes! And …"

Iggy stopped making out with Fang's pillow, and slammed his drool covered hand over Nudge's mouth.

Glad to see something can snap Iggy out of his pervertedness and strange awkward jokes.

"He's Fang." I explained, nonchalantly, jabbing my finger at him and poking him in the stomach. I completely ignored everything I heard about us being a couple because I doubted that would ever happen.

I mean, he's Fang, the tough, brooding, bad boy that all the girls want, and I'm Max, the sarcastic, tomboy that got lucky with Dylan only to find out that he was a lying bastard.

Anyways, back to me poking him. He didn't flinch. In fact, my jabbed my finger so hard, that finger bent backwards and a sharp pain shot through it.

"Fang. What a weird name, but I shouldn't be talking since my name is Nudge and that also is a weird name. Hey, did I tell you how I got my name. No, I didn't since someone rudely cut me off," she said that last part glaring at Iggy who had by now removed his hand and begun to fluff Fang's pillow after placing it on his bed.

"Did you say something. I was too busy getting Maxine comfortable. I will be sleeping with her for the rest of my life or at least until we get out of here," Iggy said.

I rolled my eyes.

"Pulease. The only thing you'll be sleeping with for the rest of your life is your mom," I retorted, shrugging my shoulders.

Iggy stopped moving for a second, his whole body tensing up. Then, just as quickly as it came, it went. He returned back to his usual perverted self.

"Go on, my fair maiden. Might as well get half way through your rant before I decide I can't handle it anymore and cut you off," Iggy said, his voice light and joking, but there was a hint of sadness to it.

"Well, people couldn't get me to shut up and I would go to parties and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk…" Nudge continued, obviously not noticing the hesitance displayed by Iggy just a few moments ago.

I turned to Fang, ignoring Nudge, and asked him in a whisper, "What happened to Iggy? I mean, do you know anything about that?"

Fang shrugged, "Orphan," he whispered back in a voice so low I barely heard it. His gaze flickered over to Iggy and then returned back to me.

"Oh."

He nodded.

"… And talk and talk and talk and talk…"

"Yeah, we get it. You talked," I said interrupting her story, "Have you been saying this the entire time?"

"Yeah, so I talked and talked. Then my parents would have to nudge me to get me to stop talking, but when they were far away on the other side they couldn't nudge me so they would verbally say nudge. Then one day I was talking to some cute guy when my mom said nudge to stop me from rambling and he asked if that was my name and I said no but he thought it was cute and he kept it as my nickname. That was when I was 9 or something. My parents died and then I kind of got mixed into the wrong group and sent into jail. So yeah, but Fang, that's a weird name. How did you get it? Hmm. Hmmm," she asked eagerly.

"Hey, for once, I didn't have to shut you up!" Iggy yelled, jumping into the air and celebrating.

Once again, I rolled my eyes, and then I turned to look at Fang, curious as to what his answer would be.

Probably a shrug, I guess. Or, maybe, he'll just walk away without anything.

He just shrugged. I knew it. Seriously, he needed to chillax and learn how to talk. Maybe he didn't know how to speak English.

Feeling slightly brave and a little bit stupid, I asked Fang, "Hola, tu ablas espanol? No. Bonjour. Parlez-vous français? Ne. Ciao. Parli italiano?"

He looked at me all weird.

"What?"

"Do you speak English?" I asked slowly.

"?" Nothing.

"I thought since you didn't speak to much that maybe you didn't know English."

He just smirked.

Nudge decided to butt in right then and yell, "OMG! I know I've said that a lot of times but I mean it. His smirk is so freaking sexy! I could stare at it all day if I could!" She emphasized her point by swooning, the whole hand on the head, eyes rolling up, soft sigh escaping, and falling on the floor chizz. I must say, she was pretty good at it.

Wow, that was a surprisingly short Nudge rant.

Iggy got up and stared at Nudge.

"What about me? Don't you think I'm sexy too?" He babbled. He flexed his arms. "See, I've got muscles."

"All I see if flabby skin. Look at Fang's there. Hey, Fang flex you muscles. I'm sure they'll rip your sleeves off you shirt right. And those abs…OMG!"

Wait. How did she know if he had abs or not?

"But I'm hot and smexy!" Iggy protested. He lifted his shirt to show off his six pack and beach tan. I have to admit, he did have some nice abs.

"I'm sorry Iggy-Wiggy," Nudge said with a fake pout, "but I'm just not seeing itl, especially with Fang right there! Fang please flex you muscles. Please!"

Fang just shrugged and flexed one arm. The muscles rippled. They weren't huge, like rip your shirt huge- but they weren't tiny either. I mean, you could see the nice build of his lean arms when he flexed.

Nudge sighed.

Iggy got bored of watching Nudge stare at Fang's muscles and began to examine me instead. I felt a little uncomfortable and shifted around on the floor, shuffling my feet and pretending to examine a little bug on the bars.

"Are you lesbian?" He asked me, suddenly.

Nudge stopped ogling Fang and turned her attention to me.

"What! Why would you ask me that?" I sceeched, appalled by his question.

"Because you don't seem to be fawning over his body as every girl should. Hell, I'm straight and even I can't help but to admit. That guy is hawt."

"EWW! I'm not fawning over him because there is nothing to fawn over," I lied.

"What!" Nudge yelled. "How can you not love that?" she said gesturing to Fang.

"Hey, you're probably not into him because you found someone even sexier." He waggled his eyebrows at me. I decided to play with him.

"Oh yeah. He has a nice figure. His muscles ripple. Strong arms meant to carry me from place to place. His lips are so soft and rosy meant for kissing me and his hands are thin and nimble meant to caress me right. His eyes are so dreamy I could stare at them forever," I said, and with, that I stared into Iggy's eyes and held his gaze.

He gulped. I'm positive I could see a bulge in his pants, again. Aw, poor Iggy.

I laughed.

"It's too bad I haven't met him yet." I said sneakily, shrugging my shoulders and turning away from him.

"Oh really? I think he's standing right in front of you," Iggy said, regaining his perverted, cocky attitude.

"Where?" I said, pretending to look around and behind Iggy. "Is he hiding behind you? I don't see him anywhere."

"Okay, okay. I can take a hint. Jeez. Who knew delinquent girls would be so hard to flirt with. Although…" he said with a sneaky smile, "tough girls love playing hard to get."

Nudge was still staring at Fang but Fang was watching Iggy and my banter with a strange look on his face.

"Jealous of my flirting, Mr. Oh-So-Dark and Mysterious?" I teased with a smirk on my face.

He scoffed, "You wish." With that he turned around and walked deeper into the cell.

Just to clarify there was a nice lamp in the cell and in Iggy's and I could see everything that happened but light also casts shadows. If you didn't know that pay attention in science there really is some interesting stuff to learn about. There you go my straight A student side coming out.

Oh well. As Fang walked deeper into the cell he blended into the shadows cast on the wall and just disappeared. I walked over, following him. I couldn't see him anywhere. I walked along the wall rubbing my hand against it as I went searching for him.

How could anyone just disappear?

All of a sudden the texture of the wall changed, and my hand felt a large bump. It still felt hard, but it was rounder in some way. I looked up and I saw Fang staring down at me, my hand resting on his chest.

Damn, he was hot. I stared into his eyes and they stared back. They looked like black bottomless abysses, deep and swirling. Anyone could just drown in them. He brought his hand up and wrapped it around mine. His hand felt warm and soft. I felt a little tingling everywhere his skin was touching mine. He gently used his hand to pull mine off his chest and drop it to my side. He brushed my bangs out of my eyes and then started to walk away, his arm purposefully brushing mine sending a shock up my body.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this or not because I always forget to leave out details when describing something. I found out that the more time you spend describing the less you spend admiring. So yeah, there was a window in our jail cell. A nice big one too, the ones you usually find in manors and mansions but smaller than those. There were no bars, probably because we were pretty high up. Through the window you could see the courtyard I'd mentioned before and all the convicts in the courtyard, you could see the entire jail complex, and you could see the hills in the background bathing in the light of the sunset.

As soon as the sun reached the tops of those mountains, the light emitting from it covered the inside of the cell with beautiful light, shattering the shadows and causing the walls to gleam and glow.

Fang walked over to the edge of the window and stared out.

He stayed quietly, unmoving, just staring out the window with me watching his every movement, or in his case, every un-movement.

"Hello. Is anybody there? We were sitting here having so much fun when, all of a sudden, the love of my life and emo kid over there decided to disappear," Iggy called out.

I turned away from Fang and walked back over to the bars.

"Yeah, it's all good," I answered.

"Are you sure? Just remember to use protection!" Iggy cackled.

"Gross. Iggy! You little pervert. You would want us to, wouldn't you? Free stuff for you to… you know," I screamed.

Nudge P.O.V.

Ugh. Seriously, I know I did some pretty bad stuff in life but what did I do that I deserved to share a cell with Iggy. He's a male chauvinist pig. Or should I say Piggy. Get it? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Iggy was busy flirting with Max. Again.

Max kept turning him down and slapping bad ass comments in his face. Again.

And, after more than a million slaps or so, he decided to lay off Max and start on me. Oh Joy.

I can't wait!

"So, beautiful, what did you do that landed an angel like you in here?" Piggy asked. Oops, Iggy.

"First of all don't call me beautiful. Second: I'm not an angel. Third: What makes you think I'll tell you?" I shot back.

"Aw come on. No one can resist my charm for long. Soon you'll be falling head over heels for me."

"In your dreams." I scoffed.

"Actually I have other things in mind when I dream. Would you like me to demonstrate what I dream about?" He said with a wink.

"Ew! No way!" I screamed, "First Max, then me. Why won't you get the hint and back off the flirting. I mean, it doesn't look like it working Piggy." Oops.

"Ooh, feisty. I love feisty." Iggy said, stretching out the 'o' in love to emphasize how much.

I just groaned.

"Oh, and what's with the Piggy thing?"

"Well, you are a male chauvinist pig, and you're name is Iggy. So, when combined, your name becomes Piggy," I said, smirking and feeling very proud of myself I might add.

"Piggy! Really! Oh god, Iggy! What did you do to her?" Max howled, laughing so loudly that I'm think my eardrums burst.

"Nothing! All I said was that she was a beautiful angel and...oh," Iggy trailed off.

"Yeah, Oh," I said.

Just then the two guards that dumped me in this hell hole of a cell, with the spawn of a very perverted Satan himself, brought in two young kids.

Each guard was carrying a child slung over their shoulders. The girl was kicking, screaming, and pounding the first guards back with her fists while the young boy was frantically kicking the air behind him, trying to somehow kick the guard in the face. The two guards carried them over to the only empty cell in our three celled court and shoved them inside.

Almost immediately the little girl plopped down and started crying while the boy rushed over to comfort her.

They didn't look that old, maybe 15 years at most.

"Hey," I called out, "Are you okay? You don't look okay. In fact, you looked tired and sleepy and you should get some rest."

The little girl looked up and wiped the tears off her face. The boy pulled her up and helped her stand, his arm clutched protectively around her waist.

"Yeah, we're fine. Mind your own beeswax," the little boy retorted.

The little girl -Man, I need to know their names because I'm sick and tired of calling them little girl and little boy- whispered something into the little boy's ear and he visibly relaxed.

"Yeah, we're fine. I'm Angel, and this is Gazzy. Who are you?"

"I'm Nudge and you missed the entire section of how I got that name, but it's okay because I can always tell you later if you want to know. If you don't it's okay too because it's kind of a confusing story. Oh, and the perverted spawn of Satan laying down on the floor over there because I beat him up, is Piggy. Whoops, his name's Iggy, but he acts like a pig so I called him Piggy, by accident. Anyways, how old are you? You don't look to old and you look so cute and innocent, like an adorable little baby but bigger. How can someone as adorably cute as you two be in a jail? That's just wrong."

Angel giggled at that super long rant. "I'm 12 years old and Gazzy is 14."

"But I'm not cute. 14 year olds aren't cute." Gazzy replied.

"Aww, but you look really cute. How did you get your names? They are really cool. Almost like mine. And what did you two do to get in here? And are you siblings because you look alike?" I asked.

It's true. They both had blonde hair and large light blue eyes that popped out of their fair skinned face.

"Yes, we're siblings, but I'm not really comfortable telling someone I don't really know about my life story. I hope you understand," Angel said with an adorably innocent look on her face.

"Don't worry, Angel. We'll have plenty of time to get to know each other, and I don't really mean it in a bad way," Max said.

Dang, I didn't even see her come up to the bars.

Angel looked surprised, "Who are you?" she asked staring at Max.

"I'm Max."

"Oh, you're really pretty you know that. I wish I could look like you when you grow up."

"Oh, thank you," Max said, obviously embarrassed. "Yo, Fang, get over here and meet you new neighbors!"

Fang got off the bed and moved to the bars. He nodded at Gazzy before looking at Angel. I swear, his eyes softened and his heart melted when he saw her. Well, the eyes softening, I'm not too positive about the heart melting. His mouth twitched upwards in the smallest smile directed at Angel, but it disappeared at fast at it had come.

By now, Iggy had gotten up and seen the two kids too. "So, Gazzy do you mind telling us what happened?"

I elbowed him in the stomach, and he let out a little grunt obviously a little sore. "Don't pry if they don't want to talk about," I hissed glaring at him.

"Angel said she didn't want to talk about it, not Gazzy." He said trying to act all smart.

"Still," I hissed.

"No, it's okay. I don't mind telling." Gazzy piped in. "Well, our parents died when we were very little so we were moved to an orphanage and then to different foster homes, but no one really liked us. So we ran away, but we didn't have any way to get money. So I would build bombs and stuff and cause distractions…"

"Woah! You built bombs! That is freaking amazing. I'm so gonna adopt you if we get out of this hell hole and make you and Angel my apprentice." Iggy yelled, clearly amazed with the 14 year olds abilities.

"That would be awesome! And yeah, back to my story. I would build bombs and cause distractions while Angel would take valuable items, and if she ever got caught, she would just persuade them into letting her go using her deadly weapon. Dun dun dun…. Bambi eyes, but one day while we were doing are usual… um… performance, a cop spotted us and arrested us. He was going to send us to a reform facility but some random guy on the street suggested this place and here we are."

Speaking of here, where is here exactly?

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><p><strong>Okay! Tada ! Chapter 8 done. Okay. Oh and check out my other story too.. Just tell me if I should continue or not. P.S. It's adopted .<strong>

**READ THIS THOUGH! DON'T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT READING THIS! : **

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	9. The Curious

**Ok, so I know it took me a lot longer to write that last chapter, and I be sorry for that.**

**I asked for like 15 reviews last chapter and I got 20! ~ Thank you so much!**

**Oh, and a special shoutout to _Death-by-Curls_. Just cuz she's awesome. **

**You know what's coming next, don't you?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride. **

**On with Chapter Nine. **

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><p>Max P.O.V.<p>

Where are we? Why are we here? What are they going to do with us? All these questions were running rampant around my head and giving me a major headache.

Ugh. I collapsed on the bottom bunk, my head pounding in my hands and my fingers carefully rubbing and massaging it, trying to calm it down.

"Where are we?" Nudge asked, peering through her bars.

I crawled back over to the bars, "We're apparently in some reform prison thing called The School."

"What do they do here?"

All six of us were hugging the bars, searching for answers in this white circular room of ours. I stuck my head out the bars as far as it could go, just so I could see everyone's faces.

Fang, seeing as he was right next to me, was an exception, but I could still feel his presence.

"I don't know," I answered truthfully, "but from what I can tell, they turn totally awesome bad-asses like us, into lame puppets like those high school preppies."

"Ew. You know, I've never been to high school before, but the way you make those preppies sound, kinda makes me glad I didn't go. I mean, I missed out on having a normal life and... sorry," Nudge broke off, tearing up.

Wow, compared to everyone here, I had a normal life. I had the ideal life. Other than the fact that my boyfriend turned out to be a total douche bag.

I had a family. I had friends. I had money. I had an education. Hell, I even had a job and was saving up some money to buy a car.

"You know what? I know we're going to be spending a long time here stuck with each other," Iggy looked up and grinned at that part, "so we might as well get to know each other. Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge have already told us their stories, so I think it's only fair that I return the favor. Well, compared to you guys, I had the perfect life. Friends, family, even a boyfriend..."

"You had a boyfriend? Well, really, I'm not surprised. You're really pretty, and I'm sure that all the boys in school were jealous of your boyfriend," Nudge interrupted.

I smiled sadly, "Yeah, they probably were, but it's because of that stupid assclown, craptastic douche that I'm stuck in this hell hole. Pardon my language," I said looking at Angel. She smiled faintly.

"Did you kill him?" Iggy said hopefully. Iggy, Iggy, Iggy... What will I do with you?

"Nope. I wish I had though. He took me out on a date to this club, and we kinda, sorta started making out or something," I shifted uncomfortably, "when some redhead interrupted us."

"Wow, Maxie! You be getting some! I'm kind of disappointed that it wasn't with me though," and we all know who said that. If you guessed Fang, no offense, but you are an idiot.

"I do feel really sorry for you, Nudge," I told her sympathetically, before continuing my story.

"So, I don't know what happened, but she managed to piss me off and that isn't the smartest thing to do. So, I picked up a beer bottle or a bottle of whatever booze it happened to be and chucked it had her. Well, the bottle was sort of broken, and it pierced her chest, instantly killing her. Then Dylan beat me up, and I was kind of out of it for the whole court trial and stuff and here I am. Stuck in here, with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Mysterious."

Angel snickered at that, "Well, he's not so mysterious."

"Really?" I cocked an eyebrow. I have always been proud of being able to do that, "And how would you know that?"

I put my hands on my hip while thrusting it out, doing that whole GIRL thing. I heard a wolf whistle.

"IGGY! Stop being such a sexist pig!" I yelled, "Anyways, continue Angel."

"Well, seing as he doesn't talk much and he keeps his face devoid of any emotion, I can tell he had lost someone really special to him. He doesn't seem broken, so it wasn't a girlfriend or a lover, more like family."

I turned to Fang whose eyes had widened just a tiny bit. He turned to stare at Angel, almost daring her to go on.

"He looks and seems tough, and that's probably from not having someone to take care of him. So, no mother or father. Other than that, I can't tell much about him other than the fact that he has seen too much of the real world."

Fang's eyes widened even more, yet they still revealed very little other than the initial surprise. He tore his gaze away from Angel and turned to me.

"Is that true?" I asked cautiously.

He hesitated, then nodded.

Nudge gasped, "Oh my god. I totally know what you've been through. You three already know, but Angel and Gazzy don't. So, basically, I was a hacker and at thief. My parents died when I was 9 and I'm now 16, so I have been doing illegal stuff for like, what, 7 years. I got mixed into the wrong crowd and stuff, and then once, I was caught while shoplifting and taken here. I'm kind of glad though because now, I don't have to sleep outside. It was all cold and wet and I didn't like it."

"Me too!" Iggy piped in, "The orphan part I mean. My parents died when I was little, and I started making and using bombs. That's kind of how I got landed in here. I'm a pyromaniac, and apparently the ladies find it sexy," he stated.

"Not this lady," I scoffed. I turned back to Fang, "Now we know everyone's story but yours. Want to share?"

He shook his head.

"Aw, come on! Everyone told their story of how they got here. Least you could do is get over that no talking thing and share."

He shook his head once again and glared at me.

I shrugged it off, "Whatever, man. You're breaking a little girl's heart," I said, pointing at Angel.

Catching my drift, she put on the most adorable pair of bambi eyes I had ever seen. I swear, I was ready to melt. So that's how she got what she wanted.

Fang looked at her. And looked. And looked.

3 minutes later: And looked. And looked. Finally, he cracked.

"Fine."

"Yay! My eyes were starting to hurt," Angel cheered while rubbing her eyes.

"So..." I started.

"Assassin," Fang said pointing to himself. Then he turned away and said no more.

Nudge on the other hand... "OMG! That is so badass! I've always wanted to have an assassin boyfriend. Wouldn't it be so romantic if the enemy decided that the best way to hurt him was to kill me, and then he shot me but my boyfriend took the bullet instead. I mean, that's the most romantic story ever."

"What about a pyromaniac?" Iggy asked, sprouting his own bambi eyes. Next to Angel's, they were nothing, however.

Nudge shrugged.

Wow. No words. That's a first.

"Um, guys. Wanna play 20 questions?" I asked, "I love that game, and it will help us learn more about each other. I don't know about you, but I'm stuck here for 5 years? A really long time, basically, and I don't want to be stuck with people I don't know."

"Sure, why not? I'll go first! What is your favorite color? My favorite color is teal because it's really pretty and really cool. I don't know why but I really love that color. It's the color of like pool water, and I like pools. I like pools because I love bikinis! Did you know, Bikinis..."

"Ok, that's enough, Nudge," Iggy said, "I'll go with orange."

"Silver," I said.

Angel went with gold, and Gazzy went with a sort of olive green color. I looked at Fang, and he just gestured to him and his clothing.

"I'm going to guess black?" I stated, but it sounded more like a question. He nodded.

"My turn, I guess. Favorite sport?" I asked, "Mine is soccer and kickboxing. I've done martial arts and karate along with football, but those don't really call to me."

"Bomb-making," Iggy said smugly.

I raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

"What? It's a real sport. I even participated in a contest for it!" He yelled defensively.

"OMG! This is a hard one! I've never really done any sports, but I do love swimming. I already told you why, right? Because of the bikinis. So, I guess I'll go with swimming. Wait! I love shopping more. I mean I never actually shopped, more like shoplifted, but that counts, right? Is that really a sport though? I hope it is," Nudge rambled.

"I like baseball," Gazzy interrupted, "though I've never gotten the chance to play before."

"My favorite is soccer," Angel said in a quite voice, "but I've never played any sports before. I only chose it because Max said her favorite sport was soccer, and I've never met someone as nice as Max."

My heart melted at that, and I instantly felt terrible. These children had never had a proper family; they'd had to struggle to survive. I, on the other hand, had everything I wanted. I felt so... selfish. So... what's the word.

"Thanks, Angel. You're one of the nicest people I've ever met, too," I said, smiling at her.

"What about you, Sir Vampire of Emo-ness," Iggy piped in.

Fang shook his head.

"Does that mean you don't have one?"

He shook his head again.

"Does that mean you have one, but you don't want to tell us."

He nodded.

"Fine, then. Be a mime. Act it out. Ooh! Let's play charades when it's Fang's turn."

Fang rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"What? You don't have to talk if we play charades. Come on! Just act out your favorite sport," Iggy whined.

"No," Fang said, his face scrunching up.

"Fine, then tell us. Tell us, tell us, tell us, tell us, tell us, tell us, tell us," Iggy persisted. Dang, persistent Iggy was annoying.

"Fine," Fang growled, "sharpshooting."

"Hmm. I kind of expected that," I said.

"Fang, did you kill just anybody or only bad people?" Angel asked. She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

Fang's face immediately softened, and he visibly calmed down.

"Only bad people," he said. His voice was softer, more quiet, relaxed, calm... loving.

"Next question! My turn I guess! Who is the sexiest man alive?" Can you guess who asked that. If you guessed your mom, then you are correct!

"Urgh, Iggy. One, my answer will not be you, and two, I have to say... Avan Jogia."

"Who?" Angel asked.

"Oh right, you guys probably haven't watched TV. Well, he's this one guy from this one show, and yeah."

"Oh, well. I haven't met a lot of guys, so I'm going to say Gazzy because, to me, he looks like one of those guys who a lot of girl's would like," Angel declared.

"Aw, Ange, that's sweet. Um.. Iggy, do I have to answer this question considering I am a guy?" Gazzy asked.

"Yes."

"What! Fine, then I'll go with the obvious one and say Taylor Lautner."

"Ooh! Mine used to be Taylor Lautner, but now that I met Fang, he's got him beat!"

I looked at Fang. His shaggy black hair fell across his face, covering his eyes and making him seem all the more mysterious. His skin was perfect, no flaws, and tanned. Truth be told, he was hotter than Avan.

"Mine is obvious. Myself," Iggy said with a grin.

Fang just pointed at Iggy.

"Aw, you think I'm the hottest man on the world. Wait, that's not right. Are you gay? I am really sorry, but I'm not into you that way. I mean you are hot and all, but I am straight. Hell, I'm straighter than a ruler," Iggy blurted out, shocked.

I cracked up. Laughter bellowing out of me like... something that bellows out of something. I clutched my sides while they ached. My eyes water and tears began to stream down my face. I kept laughing. Iggy's face was hilarious. It looked like a rabid monkey bit him in the arse. In the background, I could hear Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel's laughter mixing in with my own.

Okay, I don't actually know what it looks like when someone gets bitten by a monkey, but hey, a girl can dream.

Fang glared at Iggy and shook his head. He pointed to himself.

"Gee, self absorbed much. All of the guys chose themselves. Did you know, a girl finds in sexy when a guy reveals his feminine side?" I said.

"Really? Then I absolutely think that Brad Pitt is the hottest guy on the planet," Iggy stated seriously.

I broke into another fit of laughter.

"You're just saying that to make me think you're sexy. Did you know what I said wasn't true in my case?"

"Really? What the fuck, Max! You made me admit my darkest secret just so that I could get you to like me, and then you tell me that you lied," Iggy harumphed, "I will never trust you again. In fact, I am so over you," Iggy finished, folding his arms across his chest and turning away like a haughty princess.

* * *

><p><strong>I know this was short compared to the last chapter, but writing humor is tiring. <strong>

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	10. The Abandonment

**The Abandonment.**

* * *

><p><em>Max ~<em>

Really? Did Iggy finally admit he was over me! Thank the heavens!

"So, after that totally and utterly embarrassing moment for Iggy, who wants to go next. How about you, Angel? Do you want to go. I would go again, but I already used my turn and so did Iggy and Max," Nudge somehow manage to declare through her snorts of laughter.

"Nudge, I wouldn't be to happy just yet. Now that he's over me- thank the heavens - he is going to go after the only other pretty female in the room, and since Angel is too young, that leaves you," I said, smirking.

The look on her face was priceless. It went from total amusement, to absolute horror is less than a second.

Iggy smirked while turning to look at Nudge with his head down and a slightly creepy smile inching up his face. By slightly, I mean: the creepiest thing on Earth times a million. He looked like a total pedophile. Or maybe a pimp?

Nudge backed up to the farthest wall, "Max! If we get out of here without dying, I'm going to kill you!"

"My dear Nudge, we don't know each other well enough to start making threats. How about we finish the game, and then you kill me? Deal?" I asked.

"Sure, whatever. Just get this pedophile out of here!" She yelled as Iggy slowly crept toward her, shuffling his legs along and T-Rexing his arms. He looked exactly like the men from The Creep by The Lonely Island, just without the pencil mustaches.

When I voiced that last opinion out loud, Iggy looked at me with an expression of awe.

"You listen to them too?" He asked in amazement.

I nodded hesitantly.

"Sweet! I take that back! I am so in love with you again!" He yelled.

I groaned to myself, "Nice job, Max."

Iggy opened his mouth to deliver another sexist comment to which I would reply to with a sarcastic comment, but he was interrupted by Angel piping in and saying, "Can I ask the next question?"

"Of course," I said while Iggy said at the sametime, "You just did."

I turned and glared at him, he shrunk away, hands in the air, the universal sign of surrender.

"Go ahead," I urged.

"Umm... Okay. What are your favorite animals? Mine is a bunny because they are so cute and adorable," she said.

"My favorites are dragons and hawks. One, because they can fly and I've always wanted to, and two, because they are fierce, strong, and brave. I think," I chirped.

"I would have to say... dolphins and horses. They are so majestic and graceful. Probably two of the smartest animals. I don't know, I just really like them. I used to have a dolphin necklace that my mom bought me when I was young, but I lost it. Maybe that's why I like dolphins," Nudge declared.

"Raven."

I looked at Fang in surprise. "Hey! You didn't go last this time, and we didn't have to force you!" I exclaimed in surprise.

He shrugged.

"I like snakes," Gazzy stated simply.

"Hmmm... Hard one. Maybe...unicorns? Or, narwhals. Or, kangaroos. I don't know," Iggy said thoughtfully.

"My turn to ask a question! If you could be anyone in the world, who would you be?" Gazzy asked, "I would be a bomb technician. I don't know the names of any but if you don't know a name then the job they do is fine too."

"I would be... Ooh, this is hard. Maybe Mia Hamm because she was one of the best female soccer players ever!" I said.

Nudge answered the question with Angelina Jolie and Angel answered with Sheryl Crow.

Iggy, being Iggy, answered Avan Jogia because I thought Avan was cute.

Fang simply pointed at himself.

* * *

><p>"Maximum Ride."<p>

I whipped my head around, craning it through the bars and attempting to see the entrance to our little jail court. I had been so caught up in our game of 20 questions that I hadn't notice a large bulky guard slip through the doorway.

I hadn't seen this one before. He had the mouth of a shark tattooed onto his cheek directly below his cheekbone. He seemed normal compared to the other guards I had seen around the place. Well, as normal as a 500 pound of bulk could be. I'm going to name him Shark, considering the fact he never supplied me with his name.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," I replied sarcastically.

"You are needed in the visiting rooms."

"What for? Ooh! Is Barney here? I love Barney! I love him, he loves me. We're all happy cellmates... Wait, that doesn't rhyme."

"Neither does your face and my fist, yet they go perfectly well together," he retorted while punching in the password to unlock my cell's door. After typing in the password, he placed his hand on the scanner and inserted a key into the lick. What can I say? These people are very complicated.

"Aw, were you just complimenting my singing and rhyming skills. As much as I appreciate that, I can't say I enjoy the thought of your dirty fist all up in my delicate little face. How about we my dirty knee all up in your delicate little... you know," I replied innocently.

"Ooh, somebody's feisty. You would want to feel me down there, wouldn't you babe?"

The door had finally been opened and Shark's hand was immediately clamped down on my arm.

He sneered and licked his lips.

"You wish!" I resisted the urge to back away from him, instead standing my ground and attempting to pull my arm away.

"Hey! Let go of her!" Nudge yelled.

"Hmm.. I don't think so. Oh, and for the record. My little baby isn't delicate at all. In fact, at the moment, it's harder than your pretty little ass.

"Let go of me," I snarled deathly calm. I had given up struggling long ago because clearly his asteroid sized muscles weren't going to let me go.

"No."

"She said, let go," Fang said, his voice full of malice, low and threatening. He crept up behind me, his fists clenched by his side. His eyes, full of anger and hate, looked Shark dead in the eye. I flinched away.

"What are you going to do about it, punk?"

I barely had time to react before Fang's fist launched itself at my captor, immediately forming contact with his nose. A loud crunch filled the otherwise empty room.

"Yeah, Fang!" Nudge screamed.

"You fucking little bastard!" Shark yelled, releasing my arm and throwing himself at Fang. Fang sidestepped out of the way, shoving his elbow into Shark's neck as he flew past him and landed on the floor where Fang used to be.

Two more guards came running in just as Fang pounced on Shark. They grabbed his arms and yanked them behind his back. Fang grimaced, but his face remained as impassive as ever.

Shark pushed himself up off the floor, wiping the blood off his mouth with the back of his hand, "You, boy, are going to pay for that!"

He drew back his arm and punched Fang in the stomach. I could hear the breath whoosh out of him as he crumpled forward, struggling to regain his breath.

"Stop," I yelled, "Don't touch him!"

"What are you going to do about it, bitch?" He glared at me. He forgot Fang for the moment, but he continuously pressed closer and closer to me. My heart pounded in my chest, but I kept my ground, straining to keep a straight face.

He shoved his face right up against mine, his fingers trailing down my cheek while his lips curved upward in malicious smile.

He brought his lips closer, his breath fanning across my face, making me gag. Just as his lips were about to reach mine, I turned my head away.

His hands gripped my waist as he began nibbling on my ear. The air flowing out of him as he whispered was hot and sticky, "You like this don't you, bitch?"

I shook my head and struggled against his grip, but his hands held on tighter. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Fang trying his hardest to break free from the two guards that were pinning his arms against his back.

"Get away from me," I said in the most threatening voice I could muster.

"What if I don't want to?" He answered, yet he pulled his face away from mine, his hands still resting -more like clamping- on my waist.

"Agent 32! What do you think you are doing to the prisoner?"

The hands from my waist quickly disappeared.

"Nothing, sir. At least, nothing that the girl didn't want, sir," Shark or Agent 32 replied, winking at me.

I groaned.

"You two! Hands off the prisoner," the voice said again just as Fang's captors released him. He turned and snarled at them.

The voice belonged to a man standing by the entrance to our cell. He wasn't big, but he wasn't skinny either. He had blue eyes and a buzzcut made up of dark brown hair. From the way Shark looked at him -with fear and respect-, I could tell he was pretty high up the ladder at this place. His voice was powerful, full of authority and confidence, as was his being. Everything about him echoed 'give me respect or die.' From his pristine, ironed clothes, to his designer shoes.

"Maximum Ride. Come with me," he said, staring straight at me, before turning to the 3 baboons that tried to kill us, "You three will be punished for your treatment towards the prisoners. Report to the debriefing room, immediately."

"Sir, yes, sir!" They saluted before running out.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked.

"To the visiting quarters. There are some people who want to see you."

"Can Fang come?" Where that question came from, I have no clue, but as soon as I said it, I was glad I did. After standing up for me while Shark practically raped me, he'd earned my respect and it felt nice having him around.

I could feel his presence directly behind me. The warmth radiating off of him, flowed through me. I shivered, letting the heat soak through me. And remember... he wasn't even touching me yet.

"Will he be obnoxious, reckless, and stupid?"

Fang shook his head.

"Okay, then he can come," Mr. Man said.

He walked out the cell door and into the court. Fang and I trailed behind him cautiously.

"Don't kill yourself, sweetie!" Iggy called out from behind me.

"Don't worry me and focus on that beauty sharing the cell with you. When I come back alive," I emphasized, "you'll probably be dead."

I heard a girly shriek behind me as I continued walking, and something tells me, that wasn't Nudge.

I continued down the corridor away from our little court, following Mr. Man with Fang trailing behind me. He better not be checking out my ass because saving my skin from a rapist or not, I will cut him.

Glancing back at him, he had his hands in his back pockets and his head turned toward the floor, his hair obscuring my view of his face.

2 minutes later: "Are we there yet?" I asked.

"No."

4 minutes later: "Are we there yet?"

"No."

8 minutes later: "Are we there yet?"

"No."

11 minutes later: "Are we there yet?"

"No."

12 minutes later: "Are we there yet?"

"NO! And stop asking before I cut off your mouth and sew it to a tree!"

If anyone else had said that, I would have taken it as an idle threat and brushed it aside, but the power and strength radiating from Mr. Man's voice combined with his glare turned me into mush.

I squeaked out a little okay and continued silently down the winding hallways.

The pace at which Mr. Man was going at was excruciating. Every one step I took, he took 3 strides that were much larger behind.

Eventually, I gave up trying to keep up with his walking and began to jog alongside him. Fang koined me, looking very much at ease with the whole situation but still blank and dead.

"Okay, we're here."

"Fina-fucking-lly!" I shouted, pumping my fists in the air.

Mr. Man led us into an tiny white room with a single table and a window large enough to cover almost one entire wall. There was a broken glass lamp dangling above the table, but other than that, there was nothing else. No dirt, no mud, no cracks... Nothing.

"You two stay here while I get your visitors." With that Mr. Man walked out, shutting the door behind me and Fang.

I plopped down on the table, and Fang mimicked me.

"So... " I started, swinging my legs underneath the table, "What do you think we're doing here?"

He shrugged. Typical.

I let my legs swing a little more, the silence comforting me. It wasn't awkward like most silences are, it was just... there.

Just then, four faces appeared on the other side of the glass wall. One, was Mr. Man. The other three were... my mom, dad, and sister?

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked them, pressing my face up against the glass.

"We needed to tell you something," Mom said.

"What? Are you guys going to bail me out or something?"

"No, we're not going to bail you out. In fact, we're going to leave you here for your 5 years of prison time."

"Why?"

"Because," Ella piped up," you ruined our lives. I have no friends anymore because I'm 'the girl who's sister is a murderer' and none of the girls' parents want them to hang with me. Dad and Mom were fired from their jobs, we lost our house and all of our friends rejected us."

What?

"We decided it would be better if you stay here," Dad added.

"Yeah, that way we don't have an extra mouth to feed."

I felt my eyes starting to burn, pricked by unshed tears, but I refused to break. First my boyfriend was taken away from me, then my old life, and now my parents. This was too much. The tears started to stream down my face. I turned away from the mirror and back to Fang, burying my face into his shoulder.

He awkwardly put his hands around me and patted his back. If I was in a better mood, I would have been utterly embarrassed, but right now, I didn't care.

I released all the tears inside me. His heartbeat thrummed throughout his chest. _Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum. _It was relaxing, smooth, and calming, but it was also strong and... unbreakable.

I wiped the tears away, glancing up at Fang's face with a soft but sad smile on my lips. His eyes were slightly wider than usual indicating his surprise.

I turned back towards the window. "Fine. Go ahead and leave me here. Abandon me. I don't care. I would have been broken up over the fact, but today I met 5 other kids who have faced much worse. And, believe it or not, these kids have become my family. You guys can leave now, and don't even bother coming back. After today, you will never have to see my murdering face again. Does that make you happy? It should! I don't have time to be broken up over you, so take your sorry asses and get out of here!"

By the end of my rant, I was panting and glaring at them. Their faces mirrored the same shock and surprise that Fang's face had shown when he held me, but theirs was a more magnified version.

Literally. Theirs eyes were practically bulging out of their heads and their jaws hung limp at the ground.

I laughed a cold, hard, cruel laugh. "I said, get your sorry asses out of here! Didn't you understand what I said? Or are you guys so stupid that in addition to giving up your daughter, you also gave up the knowledge to the English language.

"We're just leaving. Bye, Max," my father called out behind him as he shuffled his family -not including me- outside the door. Mr. Man looked at me. Nothing on his face. Just like Fang, but on Fang it looked sexy and mysterious. Mr. Man, not so much.

"What?" I asked him politely.

"Nothing. You just surprised me, Maximum. You will be very useful to our organization," he mumbled the last part under breath while stroking his chin in a thoughtful fashion.

"What?" I asked again, this time in confusion.

"Oh, nothing important. Come, I need to drop you back to your cell."

"Right away, sir!" I saluted. "Can we pick up some pizza on the way. Round table, pepperoni preferably, but I can eat anything. I'm not picky."

* * *

><p>Exactly 13 minutes and 46 seconds later, Fang and I were back in our cell with the door shut and locked behind us.<p>

I know the exact time because I was counting the seconds. That was how bored I was. I plopped down on Fang's bed -the bottom bunk which he stole from me- and sighed. "Well, that suck."

He nodded.

"I mean seriously. What kind of parents abandon their daughter for making an accident. If ever parent did that, then all the children in the world would be parentless." I laughed, the same laugh my parents heard.

"You okay?" His voice was laced with a hint of worry.

"Mostly, yeah. It's just kind of depressing knowing your parents are still alive and they don't want you."

"Mine are alive."

I looked at him with shock. "Wait, your parents are alive? Then why are you still here? Shouldn't they bail you out?"

"They hate me." He shrugged indifferently.

"How could they hate you? Nobody could hate you. You're sweet and nice.. " I trailed off in embarrassment.

"Assassin." He reminded me, pointing at himself.

"Oh yeah. Well, thanks for being there for me and for getting that creepo rapist off me."

"Anytime."

He walked over and squeezed my hand lightly before climbing up to the top bunk. Did he just let me have his bed? I shook off the surprise I felt, but there was still a little bubble of joy filling my heart. Along with something else. Care? Happiness?

I yawned. Tucking myself underneath the covers, I rested my head on the pillow. The pillow which his ass was on. I giggled a little before yawning again.

Seconds later, I was fast asleep; a smile on my lips and my mind on the black haired boy above me.

Maybe jail wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10 complete. <strong>

**Sorry for making Ella a complete ... um, bitch. But, I kind of had to. You guys all figured out by ow that this story will also have some Niggy in it, right? **

**So, I asked for 17 reviews and I got 20 ! Thank you so much! Any ideas for the next chapter because if you want this to continue I need ideas !**

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**Question of the Day: Favorite animal? Starfish! Don't ask me why.**

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	11. The Tour

**The Tour.**

* * *

><p><em>Fang P.O.V~<em>

Well, that was interesting I must admit. As I lay down on Max's bed staring up at the ceiling, I couldn't help but wonder about what I had done. I had taken care of her, squeezed her hand, and been... sweet?

I had never had anyone look at me the way she did. Those chocolate brown eyes of hers were swirling with so much emotion, I was afraid if I looked long enough, I would drown. Most people saw me and looked at me with utter disgust. They automatically assumed their was something wrong with me just based on my appearance and my lack of talking skills.

In most cases, they were right. There was something wrong with me, but Max just didn't see that. There was absolutely no hate in her eyes, just... emotion. She made me want to talk. She made me want to tell her what was wrong with me.

But I couldn't. No matter how much I wanted to. She already knew I was an assassin, and I was surprised when she didn't back away. Neither did the rest of the group. I guess in prison, nobody really cares.

In real life, nobody cares. Not about me anyway. I was too broken for anybody too care, and after a while, I had given up trying to find someone who did.

But then why did I want Max to care. I wanted her to care about me. To hold my broken soul and fix it. For so long I have hidden my broken pieces, but now they were piercing into my skin just waiting to explode, shattering me in the process.

And that girl, Angel. She had come so close. So close, but that one statement just brought me closer.

I'm broken, and nobody cares. I repeated to myself. I survived without anyone for so long, I could continue going on... Nobody needs to know.

The pain in my chest was too jagged, too sharp to be shared. It was filling. I wasn't dead yet, not by a long shot, but I could feel the agony threatening to complete the task HE never could.

Flashbacks seeped through my head, submerging my mind in a river or sorrow and despair. My breathing was speeding up and my broken heart pattered harder and harder against my chest. It felt as if it were attempting to release itself from the hurt and pain it felt, but it never did. It could never escape the torture of my life.

Yet, it kept trying. Pounding and pounding. It never once stopped no matter how much I wanted it to. I knew it couldn't, so I lived with it.

Now, all of a sudden, it started again. The beating against my chest, but this time, there was no pain as I thought of the girl below me. She didn't know I was broken, and still, she thought I was sweet. She... unknowingly, she was fixing me.

Max. She doesn't need to know.

Nobody needs to know.

* * *

><p><em>Max P.O.V. ~<em>

I woke up to the sound of clanging metal and yelling.

"Yo! Get your sorry asses out of bed! It's already morning, and it's time for the tour of your new home! Come on! Move those asses! Don't make me come in there and beat you awake because you know I will!"

I groaned. "Coming! Hold your freaking horses!"

"Last time I checked I didn't have horses, but I did have you sitting in a prison cell. Do you want to be my little horse? If not, get that sexy ass out of bed!" The main guard yelled. He was followed by his two little cronies, each holding a very advanced gun and a couple collars.

"Perv much. And last time I checked, my ass was way out of your league. Oh, and your horses are right behind you," I said pointing to the two lackies behind him.

Fang was already up and about. He reached down and lifted me off the bed. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck, snuggling into his chest. My eyes remained closed.

I could feel him walk us out, the muscles in his arms and legs keeping me up. I opened my eyes and saw Iggy, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy following behind us. All of them were stumbling, obviously tired and still wanting to sleep.

Iggy stretched his arms out above his head while releasing a particularly loud yawn. Nudge was rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Angel and Gazzy just followed, their eyelids occasionally flickering shut before they yanked them open again.

"Hey! Put her down!" The guard commanded.

Fang gently slid me down and placed me on the floor. I sighed, somewhat disappointed. I like feeling Fang's warmth seep into me.

The guards slapped on the collars they held in their hands, and as soon as they came in contact with our skin, they turned on, bathing the court in a red glow.

Argh, not these again. Anything but this.

The guards led us out into the hallway, pulling us along like little dogs.

"Aw, who's the horsey now," the main guard asked. I think I'll name him Horseradish.

"Still you and your little lackies. I'm a dog, and I'll remind you, I bite like a bitch," I snarled, pretending to bite the air while a growl rumbled from my throat. I let out a pathetic little whine, still keeping up the whole dog charade.

Iggy and the gang snickered. Fang just looked amused, or as amused as a Fang could look.

"Hardy, har, har." Horseradish rolled his eyes.

I tend to have that affect on most people. I got down on all fours and began crawling behind the guards as they walked.

Nudge caught onto the act and yelled," I'm a bunny!" He began hopping, his arms tucked against his chest just like a bunny's would be.

"I'm a donkey or an ass because I have such a sexy one!" Iggy yelled, crawling down on all fours with me.

Angel's and Gazzy's laughter filled the hallways, echoing off the walls and bouncing back, making it seem so much louder than it actually was.

Fang decided to be a chicken. By chicken, I mean, the animal chicken and not the coward chicken or even the eating chicken. Chicken tastes good. So does beef. And frog. It surprisingly tastes a LOT like chicken.

His hands were tucked under his armpits while he flapped them, and his head bobbed back and forth. One look at Fang doing the chicken act, and I cracked up. My arms and legs slipped from underneath me, and I was left rolling on the floor.

Almost instantly, I felt a painful zap start at my neck and run through my body, shocking my into a frozen position. I gasped for air while clutching at the steaming collar around my neck. My legs began to jerk and my arms twitched, but eventually I calmed down.

Looking around, I saw the exact same thing happening to everyone else. The guards were standing there laughing at us.

"You guys look like electric eels now. Or maybe worms!" They laughed. "Get your sorry asses off the ground and start marching, silently!"

We slowly pulled ourselves off the ground and followed behind them silently, not uttering a word.

I'll save you the details of wandering through the maze of a building in absolute silence and total boredom, but let's just say it was tiring and no fun. At all.

When we finally stopped, it was in front of two large double doors. Horseradish pushed them open revealing a large room capable of holding maybe 500 people.

Men and women flooded the place, each wearing a black or white coverall with a number printed on their heart. Trash littered the floor and tables. In the back corner was a buffet, an all you can eat buffet. This just keeps getting better and better!

"Welcome to the mess hall. We would call it a cafeteria, but frankly, it's a mess," Horseradish said.

"Are we going to get the same uniforms as them because they look ugly?" Nudge asked.

"You know it, babe." Horseradish winked.

Nudge sneered.

I glanced down at my clothes. They were still torn and dirty, covered with blood and mud, and I'm pretty sure my hair is a nest. All of a sudden, I felt dirty and in need of a bath. "Where are the showers and bathrooms?"

"Oh, there is an attached bathroom to your cell room. Didn't you notice?"

"No..."

"It's by the window."

"Oh."

"Anyways, here's where you eat breakfast lunch and dinner. Careful where you sit because some of these prisoners aren't too kind to newcomers. They have come in here for much worse than you probably have."

"Can we have breakfast now? I'm starving!" Iggy eyed the buffet bar hungrily, his tongue hanging out of his mouth and drool dripping down his chin.

"Help yourselves. You have 10 minutes to eat before we restart the tour." Iggy was off before Horseradish even finished his sentence.

We followed behind, carefully avoiding the many glares and strange looks we were receiving. Once we reached the buffet, I shoveled the food onto my plate and searched for an empty table. Despite the whole buffet look, the only edible item they served was a 'meatloaf surprise' with Brussels sprouts and broccoli.

I don't particularly mind broccoli, but I did hate Brussels sprouts and what the hell is in meatloaf surprise? Spotting an empty table in the far corner of the room, I shuffled toward it, Iggy, Angel, Gazzy, Nudge, and Fang following close behind. I plopped down on the bench with a sigh. Many of the men I had passed on my way here had stared at me as if I was a piece of meat.

"This sucks," I commented.

"I know! How do they expect us to eat food like this? It will ruin my image! I can't be pretty and perfect without decent food to eat!" Nudge exclaimed.

I tentatively placed a small spoonful of the mashed up 'meatloaf surprise'. As soon as the supposed food item touched my taste buds, I immediately spit it out. The taste was overwhelming! Coughing, I reached for the broccoli, shoveling every single piece into my mouth.

"Well, I guess that gets rid of meatloaf surprise." Iggy pushed his plate away after grabbing a couple brussels sprouts. Everyone else followed suit.

Fang, however, filled his spoon with as much meatloaf surprise as it could possibly hold before flicking the spoon. The meatloaf was sent flying across the cafeteria landing smack onto Ari's face. Oops.

As his previously boringly impassive face transformed into a snarling, angry canvas, meat dripped down, staining the whiteness. I don't mean that in any racist way, especially since I'm white too.

"Shit," I mumbled.

Fang just stared at Ari with an interesting expression on his face. An expression that I couldn't place. Iggy and Gazzy struggled to retain their laughter while Nudge and Angel looked on in shock. Everyone else in the cafeteria turned to look at us.

Noticing their glances and stares, Ari began to walk over. His face becoming even angrier as he saw who the culprits were. Us, or more specifically, me.

"Max." His face was flaming. Smoke practically gushed out of his ears.

"Ari," I replied smugly.

He wiped away the meatloaf on his face and threw it on the table while getting some on me too. Great, so now I had mud, dirt, blood, tears, and meatloaf on me.

"You have dog food on your face," I continued. So that's what it was! It was dogfood, not meatloaf surpirse.

"You are a smug little bitch, aren't you?"

"Nope. That would be you. I'm just stating the facts. Your name is in fact Ari Bone, and last time we met, I told you that you have a dog's name. And now look, you have dog food. Don't be going calling me a bitch."

"I am going to get you for that," he growled.

"Go for it, bub."

He launched himself at me, moving with such speed that I barely had time to think before i was crushed against the table. My back slammed against the corner, and I cried out in pain.

"Off!" Someone yelled.

Ari was yanked off of me, and I slid to the ground, my back twisted at an awkward angle. I could barely breathe. The only air I could obtain came in little gulps before whooshing out of me once again. My eyes were slammed shut hiding the tears threatening to form. Someone shook me.

"OW!" I yelled.

"Don't touch her," the same voice snarled.

"Fang," I whispered, shuffling a little. Even that tiny little action made me groan.

"Max."

I opened my eyes. Fang's face looked down on me, his eyes shining with worry and concern. Aren't those the same thing... like, cinnamons? Synominosyns?

"Argh, I hate English."

Fang's lips quirked up. "Random?"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just help me, okay? My stupid back feels broken and crushed."

Fang very gently slipped his hands under me. One supporting my legs and the other just below my neck, bridal style. I looped my arms around his neck, wincing as a sharp pain shot up through my back. I lurched, causing that same pain to attack me again.

"Hospital thing?" Fang called out.

"Yeah, I'll take you," a girl from somewhere inside the cafeteria called. "Max already made a good impression on me so I guess I could help her out just this once." _Alex. _

Fang nodded before slowly following Alex out the door. Every little step sent little aches up my body, but biting my lip, I struggled to keep the moans and groans in. Boy, that sounds wrong, and it sounds even worse when I say I'm in Fang's arms.

I buried my head into Fang's chest, stifling the noises threatening to sound. Fang released a certain heat/aura that I couldn't get enough of. It radiated into me, calming me. It was so overwhelming, so overpowering, that even the pain couldn't top it.

After more than 15 minutes of staying like that, his warmth still flooding into me and his strong arms making me feel as light as a feather, I came to the conclusion that I could stay like that in Fang's arms for the rest of my life. And I'd only knwown him for what... 2 days?

"Here we are. You know, this was going to be part of your tour. You got lucky. Usually, they stab you first before sending you inside the hospital." Alex pushed open the door revealing a large, white room with beds and sterile instruments. Not all of them looked - doctorly.

By now the tingles and the pain that shot through my body had me shaking and shivering. Fang only clutched me tighter to his chest, and I gripped his neck harder trying to steady myself.

"Max! Are you okay!" Iggy, Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge were running down the hallway, 3 guards including Ari following close behind them.

Setting me down gently on the first available bed, Fang searched around for a nurse or doctor.

"Yo, Doctor!" Alex yelled. A small female walked in. She had brown hair and glasses, but unlike the other workers here, she looked normal and kind.

Fang nodded his thanks before Alex retraced her steps back down the hallway.

"Is she okay?" Iggy leaned over me, watching me intently.

"Fine," I groaned.

"You don't sound fine."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Could you five please wait outside while I fix her up. I don't think you want to see this." The doctor moved around while searching for tools and other supplies.

Iggy, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy easily complied and exited the ward, but stubborn old Fang didn't budge. He gripped my hand, and I gave him a faint smile.

I felt more comfortable with him close by, and before I knew it, I was drifting into unconciousness.

* * *

><p>I woke up to 5 worried faces staring down at me.<p>

"Argh! Can't a girl get some sleep around here!" The faces slowly backed away. Feeling something warm in my palm, I glanced down and saw an olive hand intertwined with me own. The owner was asleep- his face resting on my stomach- on a chair.

"Well -Max, your name was - you should be fine. You had dislocated some of the discs in your spine, but after a quick surgery, I managed to shift them back into place. You will be sore for a couple days, and I will inform the guards and prison warden that you cannot move out of bed for the next few days due to the fact that any strained movement could dislocate your spine again. You're just lucky that none of the nerves were cut. If that had happened, you could have been in full-body paralysis for the rest of your life."

"Gee, thanks Doc."

"Oh, and please, try not to walk. We'll have a wheelchair for you so you can get around places."

"Ok."

"Could someone please wake Fang up. He's been here for the past 4 days and I've been bored out of my mind with Iggy sharing a cell with me!"

"What! I've been here for 4 days!"

"Yeah. After the surgery, you kind of went into a come for 3 days, and that entire time, Fang never left." Iggy went over to Fang and shook his shoulders gently. Startled, he woke up immediately, his head whipping from side to side as if searching for something.

"Fang?" His eyes met mine, and he instantly calmed.

"Could you pick up Max and put her in her wheelchair?" The doctor asked, rolling in a wheelchair. I glared at that despicable little chair, willing my back to heal instantly and the chair to vanish. However, I wasn't born a magician so I had to contend with what I had.

Fang nodded and completed the task gently managing not to jolt me. Almost instantly, a pair of cuffs slapped around my wrists.

"What the hell is this?" I struggled against the cuffs, wanting release.

"A safety precaustion. It will automatically unlock when you reach your cell, but at any other time, it will remain locked." The doctor scribbled something down on her little clipboard.

"You can't just imprison Max outside her cell as well!" Angel yelled.

"Calm down, or I will be forced to activate your collars." The doctor pulled out a little remote with a large purple button on it. Why purple? In all movies, isn't the button supposed to be red? Typical Hollywood stuff, and she should know that.

"Hey, it doesn't matter. It's not like I'm leaving our cell anytime soon," I reassured Angel.

"It's still not fair." Iggy walked over and fiddled with the cuffs."Can you at least make them less tight so that her hands don't fall off from lack of blood."

"Not my problem if they do, but since you asked so politely of course." Doc walked over to a laptop that she had set on the table beside my bed. Seconds later, I felt the pressure on my wrists loosen.

Wait - Was she flirting with Iggy? She certainly wasn't as nice as I thought she was. Looks can be deceiving.

"Fang? Can you make this a rollercoaster ride?" I asked smiling up at him with the most innocent smile I could muster.

He smiled a very faint smile before sprinting down the hallway.

I screamed at the sheer speed of it. The walls were whizzing past. _This was almost like flying, _I thought. I whooped and screamed with excitement.

5 minutes later, we were back at out cells, and Fang was barely panting.

"Yeah! That was sooooooooo much fun! I wanna do that again! Can we do that again?" I felt like jumping up and down with excitement, but sadly, I was confined to the now not-so-descpicable chair. I wonder, what else could I do with this somewhat fun chair?

From now on, the official name of my little baby chair is The Magical Chair of Wonderment and Rollercoaster Rides! Yup.

At that moment, Iggy and all entered the court behind us, panting heavily. "How in hell, do you run so fast without getting tired, Fang?"

"Practice." He smirked.

"The excercise I can do without getting tired of it, requires a partner. And trust me, I've had plenty of practice." Iggy wiggled his eyebrows before Nudge smacked the back of his head.

"Pervert," she mumbled.

I laughed. "I agree with Nudge on that one. Please keep your conquests to yourself."

"Fine."

"Did you know, the sentence -the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog- has every single letter in the English language?"

"What?" Fang asked.

"What what?" I looked at him confused. I thought that sentence made perfect sense.

"What what what?"

"What what what what?"

"What what what what what?"

"What what what what what?"

"You missed a what." He smirked.

"What?"

"God! Not again!" Nudge screamed.

_Glad to see that even with a broken back, I get on people's nerves. _I thought, laughing.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11: Done. <strong>

**ONE THING: YOU KNOW, THIS STORY HAS 10,000 VIEWERS AND 300 REVIEWS. :P Interesting, isn't it? (; Just a fun little Fact ! I still really appreciate all the reviewers! So, if you are one of the people who've reviewed... Thank you sooo MUCH! You are amazing! **

**Sorry, I didn't update sooner, I was busy with so much stuff. I'll be out on vacation for the next 3 weeks, but when I come back, I will update. **

**How about 22 reviews this time for an update as soon as I get back? So... 333?**

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	12. The Lessons

**The Lessons.**

* * *

><p><em>Max P.O.V. ~ <em>

2 weeks have passed since that fateful incident. 2 weeks of sitting in that darned chair. 2 weeks of roller coaster rides with Fang. 2 weeks of almost total, absolute boredom.

"Argh!" I yelled. "I can't take this anymore! I am so damn bored. Is this the newest form of prison torture? Well, it's working pretty darn well. I'm just about ready to kill myself."

"Don't kill yourself, Max. That wouldn't be a good thing. You're too pretty, too nice, too cool, and too many other things - to die. I would really want to be you, so you shouldn't kill yourself because I might just find a way to make my soul enter your body. It would be like the first zombie on Earth! Wouldn't that be awesome?! Except zombies are a total fashion faux-pau. They're skin is way to pale and eating only brains -seriously- is not the best way to a hot and healthy figure," Nudge rambled.

"Of course I'm not going to kill myself. I'm not a total idiot, and it's just an expression. I already killed someone, no need to add onto the list," I cried.

"Come on, Max," Iggy helped. "Don't cry."

"Yo, bub, who said I was crying? Complaining of boredom and crying are two absolutely different things," I argued.

Nudge snickered. "Iggy, just give up already. You are never going to get her to like you. It's kind of obvious that she likes Fang anyways."

"What! I don't like Fang. Who said that?"

"Denial," Nudge voiced in a singsong voice. "Max, it's so obvious. You hang out with him all the time, you always seem to look at him when you think he isn't looking, and you shiver every time he touches, speaks, or even looks at you." Nudge pointed at a finger every time she mentioned a 'clue'. By the end of her rant, she was waving 3 perfectly manicured fingers in the air. I have no idea how she kept them so perfect, but she did. "Face it. You like him."

Now you're probably wondering where Fang is… I was too, but when Iggy snickered, I knew. Fang was standing right behind me. Freaking BEHIND me while Nudge ranted! In an instance, I felt my cheeks heat up as a rush of blood collected directly below my eyes.

"Fine. I like him," I admitted, "but I like you and Iggy just as much as I like him. It's just a friendship sort of like. And by the way: I spend all my time with him because he shares the same cell as me; I look at him when he isn't looking because I want to see if he has any emotion on his face at all; and I shiver because he's cold. Like a vampire." Okay, so the last one was a total lie.

"Oh, so you swoon and shiver every time you see Iggy as well? And I doubt you shiver because he's cold. Fang's one of the warmest people I have ever met."

"I don't swoon or shiver!" I said defiantly.

"No?" Nudge raised an eyebrow.

"No. I just feel… cold?" I offered. Fang scoffed behind me.

"She loves me." He emphasized the love by dragging out the 'o'. I noticed that he had been opening up more often. He mad facial expressions, joined in on conversations without any prodding –ahem- , and he even started to smile. Granted his smiles were only tiny upward quirks of his beautiful lips, but it was a start. The only thing that didn't change about him was his eyes. They remained as dark and mysterious as ever, constantly swirling but never betraying any hint on what might be going on in his heart. They were still deep enough for me to drown in, but unlike the first time I saw him –when there was no light to guide me- I could see into him. It was like looking into a tunnel, all black at first, but then a light turning on to lead you in. You couldn't see all the way, but you were already falling. It was impossible not to.

"Yeah, right, in your pathetic little dreams." I shook out of my trance quickly.

"Fang eyes narrowed and his expression darkened before his face returned to impassive. Still nothing flickered behind his orbs. No sign of anger, disappointment, annoyance, nothing. "You don't want to know what I dream about." He completed his sentence with a wink.

Oh. My. God. Fang just pulled an Iggy.

"Oh. My. God. Fang just pulled an Iggy." Angel giggled.

"Angel, dear, you just read my mind." I laughed as Iggy glared at me. ]

"Oh, so you find it funny when he says it but not when I do. I'm hurt, Max. Really, I am." Iggy said, his voice dripping with sarcasm and mock pain. His hand clutched at his chest directly above his heart and his expression was twisted. If this guy wasn't so obsessed with bombs and shoplifting, maybe he could be a professional actor and make funny the fun way. Hard work.

I laughed. "Aw, Iggy, I love you too."

"You do!?" He jumped with excitement, his face obviously plastered with fake hurt. He pulled it off so well, however, that he looked exactly like a kid in a candy shop.

"Nope." Iggy grumbled and turned away from the bars. I continued laughing at his expense.

Fang walked up behind me and placed his arm around my waist. Tingles erupted where his skin came in contact with mine. "Max, just admit it."

I shivered once more, purely because of the air conditioning in this hell hole, not because I loved the way my name rolled off his tongue.

"There's nothing to admit except for the fact that if my hands weren't restrained by these stupid cuffs, I would punch your face," I growled, struggling against the metal bracelets restricting my ability to move. One day, I am going to put that stupid doctor in this same chair and make her feel how annoying this is.

"Not even you can harm something so perfect." Fang smirked. _Longest sentence so far. _I directed my growl at him this time knowing perfectly well that what he said was true. Did I mention that Fang looks extremely hot in a prison jumpsuit thing? The top was slightly open revealing part of his chiseled, hairless chest and more of his perfect skin.

I groaned once again. I was such a sap. And an idiot. The last 'perfect' guy who had taken an interest and dated me was also the one who landed me in jail, and here I was already ready to rush into another relationship. Shit. Did I just say the 'R' word? Speaking of Dylan, what happened to that bastard anyways? I mean shouldn't he have been arrested for assault or violent abuse. I throw a bottle and I get arrested, he beats me up and he gets nothing. What kind of fucked up life am I living?

"Argh! When am I going to get out of this stupid chair?!" I screamed. "My back feels fine. I haven't felt any pain since last week. And the food here blows! What I give for an In-and-Out burger right now. With onions and tomatoes and that juicy delicious patty and…"

"Max! Shut up! You're making me hungrier than I already am, and look, Iggy's drooling. I am not sure if it's because he's thinking about that burger you just described with vivid detail or because he's staring and you and Nudge."

"Oops, sorry, Gazzy." God help me. Here I was complaining about my life when everyone here has probably had worse. Yet, everyone here is calmer about it than I am. Now, I feel rotten. And not because I was the only one who hasn't been able to change into something decent like those jumpsuits like everyone else. Instead, due to my inability to stand and walk and even move my arms, I was stuck wearing the same outfit for almost 3 bloody weeks. I feel like a walking trash dump, and the smell doesn't help much either.

"By the way, Max, the only reason your back doesn't hurt is because you're hyped up on pain medication," Angel stated simply.

"I am not!" I said –once again- defiantly, stamping my food on the ground as best as I could to indicate my frustration.

"Oh, so you just randomly start talking about your pet kangaroo name Mr. Flirfikinz and how his favorite food is pancakes and peanut-butter and Oreo sandwiches."

"Yes. It's not strange at all. And his name is Mr. Fluffikinz, not Mr. Flirfikinz. And don't judge the peanut-butter Oreo sandwiches until you try them. They taste really good, almost as good as chocolate. They're like heaven on Earth."

"Is it safe to assume that if I made you a peanut-butter oreo sandwich while in prison, you would love me for the rest of your life?" Iggy asked hopefully.

I shrugged. "It's safe to assume I probably won't kill you on 'accident.'" I used my fingers to indicate quotes around the 'accident'.

Iggy shrugged in return. "I'm good with that... No offense or anything, but you are a violent person, aren't you? No wonder you're stuck in here."

"Don't think you know anything of my life. I didn't ask to be in here, and while I didn't have as hard as a life as all of you have, I still did have some problems. I never used to be a violent person. I learned karate, but it was only for self defense. I didn't want to hurt people. I saw what it did to them. My mom was raped when she was 17 or something, and the man who did it got her pregnant with my older brother. He died in childbirth, however. She had so many problems in her life. And then when I was 13, a man tried to do the same. I escaped, but it was the scariest thing ever. My mom forced me to take karate after that so that I didn't have to go through the same thing she went through." I had to get that off my chest. I had never told anyone but my mom. I didn't even tell my friends because I didn't want their sympathy and I didn't want to live through high school as the girl who almost got raped."

"Aww... That sucks. Well, I don't think it worked out very well considering you're in jail." Iggy snickered.

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, thanks for that sentiment."

"It's what I'm here for. Delivering sentiments of absolute value since 1995, 24/7, 7 days a week. Except on Tuesdays. Those are my I'm-An-Ass days, so don't expect anything sentimental on Tuesdays." Iggy grinned.

"Isn't today a Tuesday?" Nudge questioned.

"How would I know? I lost track the day I got here, but it's probably not because I'm not acting like an ass."

"Iggy, you're always acting like an ass," Nudge said.

I laughed. "I'm glad we're cleared that up."

"More like an assclown, actually," Gazzy offered.

"Assclown? New word?" I asked. I've heard interesting ones like 'asscrap' and 'assnube', but I never heard assclown.

Gazzy shrugged. "Yeah. If you live on the streets, the same insults get boring after a while. Everone uses the same ones. It also gives you a chance to let your creativity flow. Considering the fact we never really had like art or music classes."

"Well, I like it. I think I'm going to use it now, if that's okay with you. No copyright or anything, right?" I asked. Assclown. Hmm. I think it works.

"Sure, go ahead. We wrote a whole dictionary of our words. Or at least, we tried to. Whenever we found paper and a pen, we did," Angel added.

"OMG! That's amazing! I could really have used those words when I lived on the streets. They could have come in handy when telling someone to piss off. What would you say instead of that? Pisser off? Flying chocolate unicorns off? I can totally tell that I'm not as creative as you. I mean, your insults are melodious kind of like music, but mine sound like someone scratching their nails on a chalkboard," Nudge rambled.

"So... we're comparing swear words to the arts now? In that case, the word assclown reminded me of the movie Madagascar 3. You know, the one with the circus afro. Marty kind of looks like an ass or a donkey, and he looks like a clown with the afro and polka dot hence the term assclown," Iggy laughed. In some twisted way, his logic actually made sense.

"My personal favorite is asshat. We can't take credit for that one though. Some guy on the street yelled that at us as we stole his briefcase and ran. He even called us 'little bugging rascals'. I mean, who uses those words anymore?" Angel stated.

"Ok, asshat is by far my favorite," I decided. Then turning to Fang, "What about you?"

"Ass. Plain and simple." I laughed at that. Plain and simple, just like Fang. It's just that Fang had an aura of mysteriousness about him that plain and simple couldn't even begin to cover.

"Hungarian blue giraffes love to eat fat, old, purple pandas!" Iggy yelled.

Crickets chirped in the background. "What? Have I lost my sense of humor or something? I know I had it before I came here. What is this place doing to me? Why is nobody laughing at me or my jokes?" Iggy whined.

"Oh, we're all laughing at you, Iggy. Laughing at your face because that is the funniest thing I have ever seen. Your jokes are -how to put this nicely?- lacking, in the humor department." Nudge shrugged and turned away.

Iggy's face had a hurt and shocked expression plastered on his face. Seeing this, Nudge continued, "Sorry, that was mean. I just haven't really learned how to be polite and stuff. That's probably one of the first times I've said sorry. See, in the gangs I hung out with on the streets, if you wanted something, you just take it. No 'please' or 'thank you'. After living like that for years, I lost all sense of politeness I might have had."

I winced. Imagine not having a mother who -when you did something bad- would scold you and tell you to apologize. Imagine never saying 'please' or 'thank you'. That's like going life without saying the word 'the'. Nudge didn't have that opportunity, but maybe...

"Hey Ferb, I know what we're going to do today." I snapped my fingers together as an idea popped into my head. A strange idea, but a unique and creative one none-the-less.

"Whose Ferb?" Angel asked with a baffeled expression on her face.

"Don't tell me you haven't seen Phineas and Ferb. You know the T.V. show?" I gaped in amazement. She hadn't seen Phineas and Ferb. You haven't lived life until you can sing along to everysong and watched each episode over 4 times. That could be classified as not having a life, but I have done that and I turned out pretty okay. Mostly.

5 heads in the court shook their head.

"Is it about this guy with a triangle head and orange hair and this other guy with a rectangular head and green hair?" Nudge asked.

I nodded enthusiastically hoping that she had heard of them.

"I might have seen them once on a Best Buys T.V. screen, but I've never actually seen a complete episode."

"Okay. So basically, it's about these genius kids who build these crazy contraptions. And they build something new, awesome, and cool everyday and each day, it's different. So when Phineas comes up with an idea of what they should build that day, he says 'Hey Ferb, I know what we're going to do today.' And I just had an idea of what we should do today, so I just said that." I waited for some gesture indicating they had understood at least half of what I had said, but I received none.

"So..." Fang asked.

"So what?" I returned.

"Idea?" Back to one word sentences I see.

"Oh, yeah. Nudge said she never really learned manners or how to be nice, right? So why don't we teach her. I mean we have nothing better to do, and I'm already bored. Imagine staying here for 5 years." Max shuddered.

"You're kidding, right?" Nudge asked in disbelief. "You would actually help me learn my manners and how to be nice."

"Nope. Why not? It's what friends are for." I shrugged.

"We're... friends?"

"Of course. I like you, and I'm guessing you like me, so we're friends," I explained.

"OMG! Of course I like you! What's not to like? Omg! I can't believe I have a friend! Okay, from now on, all of you here are my friends! You're my bestest friends ever!"

"Well, I guess we could try the whole teaching thing. It would teach her not to punch me. I think my arms have turned purple by now," Iggy said. It was true. From the amount of punches Nudge threw at Iggy for each sexist joke he delivered, his arms should have fallen off by now.

"OMG! This is amazing!" Nudge shrieked excitedly, jumping up and down and clapping her hands.

"Maybe we shouldn't help. Save my ears some torture," Iggy winced. He clasped his hands against his head trying desperately to block out the noise.

"Ok, first lesson I guess. Probably should be 'please' and 'thank you' since those are the 'magic words'. Let's start," I began.

"Wait, magic as in? Do they levitate people? Hmm? Do they do anything special?" Questioned Iggy.

"Magic as in, if you don't stop talking, I'm going to beat your skinny little arse."

"Like you could harm something so perfect." Iggy smirked knowing perfectly well that he had just copied Fang's words.

"Iggy, don't get your panties in a twist. Now onto the lesson. Saying 'thank you'. So... I guess... How about: Every time someone does something nice for you, you say thank you. If they give you a compliment or a present or are helping you with something, anything like that. What would you do if I said your hair is beautiful and so naturally curly that I'm jealous," I explained.

"Oh I know it's beautiful. You don't get many beauty products on the street, but I still manage. Imagine, 2 weeks in here and it still hasn't gotten ruined," Nudge said. Iggy nudged her in stomach. I guess that the whole 'Nudge' for a name thing works out. She continued, "Oh, thank you."

"That's brilliant!" I exclaimed. "That wasn't hard at all. Now for the presents. Iggy, give her something."

"Your wish is my command, princess." He slowly began removing his shirt, and much to Nudge's horror, revealed his stomach showing his six pack. It was almost as good as Fang's, not that I had seen his of course. I just... imagined, sometimes. He stuck out his shirt after pulling it off and handed it to Nudge.

"What makes you think I want that? Oh, whoops, thank you," she said before gingerly plucking his shirt out of his hands and throwing it in the corner.

"Nice job, Nudge. Onto 'please' I suppose. Now. You say 'please' when..."

Max was interrupted by Ari who, just at that moment, decided to barge in. "Sorry to interrupt your little love fest, but it's time for you to move your sorry arses. We're going on a trip."

"Where?" Fang asked cautiously.

"Oh, didn't you hear? You're being relocated. To different cells. In other words your moving." Ari smirked.

We were moving. I most likely wouldn't see my friends again. Shit.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, Chapter 12 is complete! I know nothing really happened, but I was so busy on vacation that I really didn't have time to anything. I'm coming back tomorrow, but I decided since I have wi-fi right now, I might as well update. <strong>

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	13. The Move

**The Move.**

* * *

><p><em>Max P.O.V. ~<em>

Shit. We were moving. But, I don't want to move. I liked staying here in the same cell as Fang. I liked talking to Iggy, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy even if Iggy was a perverted freak and Nudge was a chatterbox. Strangely enough, I liked it in here. Wow, I do believe I'm the first person to ever like hanging out in jail.

"I don't want to leave. And you can't make me, Ari." I decided.

"Oh, I can. It's a pity you're still a vegetable, unable to move from that chair, otherwise I would have tossed you over my shoulder and carried you out."

"Like a potato sack? You're calling me a potato sack AND a vegetable. Wow, that's kind of ironic," I stated before turning to Fang, "I'm a potato! Do you like potatoes?"

He chuckled and shrugged, "I like this potato."

"Really?! You like me?!" I asked with excitement. Yup, I definitely like hanging out in jail. First, I make five awesome new friends, and then the hottest guy I've ever met, who is also one of my five friends, likes me! He likes me.

"No, I like potatoes." I frowned before he continued, "But yes, I like you." He chuckled again and ruffled my hair. I told you he was starting to get more talkative and emotional. Chuckling and full sentences!

"Hey, you messed up my hair! Just because I like you doesn't mean I like my hair neat. Even though it smells like meatballs and sour cream and has lots of dirt and stuff in it." I complained.

"Do you want me to kiss it better?" He asked with a strange gleam in his eyes.

"Yes, please."

He leaned down, his hands on my shoulders, and placed his lips the top of my head. On top of my dirty, dirty head. If that's not _like, _then I don't know what is. He kissed my goddamn dirty hair. I could feel the heat from his lips seep into my skull and rattle my brain even though I couldn't actually feel the plush pink heaven myself. I let out a content sigh.

"Awwww! Did Maxie-Waxie get a boyfriend?" Ari said in the best baby-walk a 200 pound hulk could muster.

"Aren't you jealous, Ari. I got the guy you've been crushing on since we came here," I giggled.

"What are you talking about?" Ari asked, clearly confuzzled.

Iggy decided to join in, "Though I don't support your PDA Max and Fang, I do concur with Max. I've seen those looks you give Fang, Ari, and it certainly looks like you're head over heals. However, due to the compromising position your job puts you in, you can't act on your passion."

Ari sputtered, "Are you calling me gay?"

"Give the boy a prize. He has a brain," Gazzy remarked. I giggled some more. Maybe I am hyped up on pain medication.

"Listen here, you good for nothing punks. I am the guard, you are the prisoners..."

Nudge cut him off, "No shit. Do you want to switch spots because I'm totally fine with that. Max, was that too mean?"

"Nope, Nudge, it was perfect. If you're talking to someone as stupid as Ari here, then you can talk however you want."

"Don't interrupt. It's rude," Gazzy said, mimicking Bon Qui Qui. I swear, it was almost as if she was here in this very court, that's how good he was. "Let Ari finish what he was saying."

"Little twerp. Anyways, I'm the guard, you're prisoners; blah, blah, blah. Don't make me beat your asses."

Fang snorted. "Please, you couldn't if you tried."

"Oh, lookie here. Emo boy is talking. Whatever, I'll be back later to collect Max. In the mean time, go back to making out or whatever else a hot female would do with a hot male." And with that, Ari walked out.

"Does that mean we're not moving? I like with all of you," Angel said timidly.

I smiled. "No, I guess we're not."

"Is is just me or did Ari call Max AND Fang hot?" Iggy asked.

Nudge laughed, "Dammit! I new he was gay! Or maybe a bi?"

* * *

><p>"Fang? Can you help me? I really want to take a shower, but I can't get up by myself." I was sitting in The Magical Chair of Wonderment and Rollercoaster Rides in the bathroom staring at the cracked mirror. I looked like a mess. I know I've said this about 6 times already, but I really did look like a mess, and this is coming from a girl who doesn't care much about her appearance.<p>

"You sure?" That was probably short for 'Are you sure you want help?' It's nice to know that there are still gentlemen in the world and that not all men are perverted idiots.

"Yeah. I feel like a pig."

"Ok." Fang opened the door to the bathroom slowly and knelt down beside the wheelchair and me. "Are you sure, Max?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I don't like smelling like..." I sniffed my self, "dumpster and trash."

Fang nodded before standing up and slowly pulling me out of my seat. The cuffs automatically unlocked. Well, it took them a while. Usually they always came undone when I entered the cell. I winced at the stiffness that invaded my back. The pain was minimal, just a slight twinge, but according to the doctor, I had to stay seated until my spine healed itself completely. The Magical Chair of Wonderment and Rollercoaster Rides was to be retired two days from now, and frankly, I couldn't wait.

I collapsed onto Fang, clutching onto him to keep myself upright. He wrapped him arms around me and held me up, not letting me fall. I smiled up at him as a thank you gesture. His lips twitched up, but he didn't give me a full smile back. He never did, but he was always getting better.

"Thank you," I admitted.

He nodded again. "I'll see you naked," he stated simply.

"It's okay. I trust you," I said smiling. I'd shared a cell with him for who knows how long already; he's probably already seen me naked.

Another nod. I slowly lifted my hands up and peeled the shirt off my body leaving me in just my bra. He gasped slightly, his eyes widening.

"What?" I asked, worried. I began to shift my arms to cover myself, but he held them back.

"Nothing," he replied. He quickly shut his eyes while I pulled the rest of my clothing off.

"Okay, I'm ready," I said shyly. Without opening his eyes, he steered me towards the shower. I stepped in, and he followed behind me, his eyes shut and his hands on my waist, never moving. _Such a gentleman,_ I thought.

I turned on the water and was welcomed with a blast of cold water that soaked me and Fang. I shivered and fumbled with the tap, trying to increase the temperature. Nothing happened. Looks like a cold shower for me. There was no soap or scrubber or shampoo or anything, so I settled for rubbing the dirt off my body with my fingernails and fists.

I finished my shower feeling cleaner and more refreshed that I had in weeks. I turned the tap off and turned around, coming face to face with Fang. Despite the fact that his hands were still clutching my waist, I had forgotten he was there. It was almost as if his hands were a part of me, and they were meant to be there. I smiled at the thought.

"Done?" He asked. His teeth were grit and his eyes clenched closed. His clothes were sopping wet, and the coverall clung to his body providing me with an outline of his chest and six pack. Damn, I knew he had one. The cold shower had taken care of any other problems that may have 'aroused'.

"Yeah." I stepped out of the shower, dragging Fang behind me. I grabbed the towel that lay on the floor and dried myself off. I quickly slipped into my white, 2-sizes-too-small coverall before turning back to Fang. "Thanks, but you can open your eyes now."

He slowly opened his eyes, the black orbs scanning over my body. The jail's outfit clung snugly to me, showing off curves I never knew I had. I gulped under the intensiveness of his gaze. He stepped closer.

"You're beautiful," he whispered into my ear, his breath fanning over the soft skin. I blushed a really bright red. "Can I kiss you?"

I was too stunned to speak, so I simply nodded. His lips descended upon mine, pressing against them softly. He stood there, not moving, just letting our lips touch so lightly. This wasn't a kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and yanked him closer to me, crashing our lips together. He kissed me back just as hard. Our lips moved together in a sinful dance. He bit my lower lip drawing blood, but I moaned in pleasure. His tongue darted forward and licked up the blood that covered my lips before he shoved it forward into my mouth. I stuck my tongue out, meeting his and fighting it, licking it, even biting it gently. Fang let out a small moan before pulling away slowly.

"Yo! Guys! Are you still alive? You've been gone awful long!" I heard Iggy yelling from his cell. I grinned up at Fang, and he gave me the biggest grin I'd seen so far on his face. It still didn't reach his eyes or even turn up enough to be counted as a smile, but it was good enough for me.

Fang picked me up and placed me back onto my chair, the cuffs held back from restraining my hands. So, I placed my hand in Fang's, smiling up at him.

He walked out, I followed behind him, rolling. Hand-in-hand, back to our cell.

* * *

><p><em>Fang P.O.V.~<em>

I kissed her. I can't believe I kissed her. I can't believe... I haven't kissed anyone but Max and _her. _I can't do this. I can't. I have to stop. I... don't know what I'm doing anymore? How could this have happened. Max's hand rested in mine. Any form of contact was supposed to disgust me, but I couldn't help but love the feeling. Her hand was small and soft, almost the exact opposite of mine. Years of a hard life had given me large and rough hands.

"You guys were in there a long time. Are you okay?" Angel asked with concern.

I nodded while Max spoke timidly, a blush lining her cheeks, "I wanted to take a shower and Fang helped me." She turned and grinned up at me.

"Oh... Fangy-boy. You got lucky with the lady, didn't you. How was it? As good as the name suggests."

Now, you see. Normally I would have responded with a glare, but this place was changing me. I hated it, but I loved it. So instead I answered with a wink, "All that and then some."

"Did you just quote Jesse McCartney," Max asked in disbelief. She looked up at me with the strangest expression on her face, but I couldn't help but notice just how adorable it made her look.

"Who?" I asked truthfully. It's not my fault I don't know who people are. I've been living in the same hole I dug for myself years ago. It was so dark in there. Bleak. Boring. Haunting. Dull. There was nothing for me in life while I lived there other than the fact that I had to find _her _killer and avenge _her. _When I completed my mission, I still lived in that hole, but life was worse. Life held nothing for me until they captured me and brought me here. To Max.

Max was now my reason to keep living. She was now the little light that pulled me out of my hole. She was everything I never had. She might not know it, but the only reason I changed was to keep her.

But the voice in my head wouldn't let me. I couldn't keep her. Not now and not ever. I didn't want to be broken again. It hurts. Too damn much. Once we leave here, Max would leave me, and I would break again. Shatter. Even worse than before because I was falling in love. Nothing special happened, just one kiss. But here I was, falling in love with a girl I met who knows how long ago.

I couldn't do this. The reason I shut myself off in the first place was to stop the pain. I don't want to do that again. I should let her go before I hit the concrete. I watched as her face changed and her eyes looked at me with a whole new meaning.

"You don't know who Jesse is and yet, you quoted him perfectly. I'm impressed."

I gave her another one of my mini grins. "What can I say. I'm perfect," I supplied, shrugging. The words flowed easily now. Before, they used to get lumped together in my throat, choking me, but now... It was like Max was my honey, cooling down the rough patches and smoothing everything over with her gentle touch. She made me want to speak. She made me want to do something stupid just to make her laugh, hence the previous statement.

Just as expected, she laughed. "That you are, and that's a bad thing."

"How so?" I asked Max. God, I loved her laugh.

"Well, when you do something stupid, I will end up regretting the fact that I punched you in the face -your perfect, perfect face."

"Gee, thanks. When? Not 'if'?"

"When. All boys do something stupid. You'll just have to prove me wrong." She winked at me. That is just what I was going to have to do. I've done something stupid before that ended up costing me more than everything. That mistake took away my life. I wasn't going to repeat it again. No, I had the chance to make everything better with Max, and I was going to take it. I wasn't going to let someone take away something I loved.

"Max, who is Jesse?" Angel asked timidly. Angel. I wasn't ever going to be rid of _her, _was I?Angel looked exactly like _her. _God, it had been so long.

"He's a singer, dear. A very good one too. Not too shabby looking, though Fang definitely has him beat in that department. His singing skills were amazing. Fang's singing skills, not so much," Max answered.

"How would you know?" I prodded. She had never heard me sing, and I was pretty sure, I could beat that Jesse guy any day.

"Oh, maybe because you've never sang for me."

"I have to sing to you?" I asked in disbelief, playing along with her little game.

"Of course. That's the only way to get me. I demand a song," Max frowned, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Hmm...You have to earn it," I whispered.

"You guys are like a married couple, and seriously, no need to flirt in front of us," Iggy stated, gagging. "On the bright side, now that Max is taken, I can devote my full attention to this lovely lady over here." He pointed and Nudge.

"Don't get lucky, we're still here," Fang mentioned.

"Dur, that's why we have a bathroom." Iggy rolled his eyes while Nudge openly gagged. Her face turned an unsightly shade of green before she rushed to the bathroom, and seconds later, retching sounds could be heard from our cell.

Max laughed. "You better help your beloved out. I think she's getting morning sickness before you even had the chance to get lucky."

"Aww... that's not even fair!" He followed Nudge into the bathroom as she continue to vomit. Just before he entered, he took a deep breath and plugged his nose with his hands then stepped into Nudge's Hell.

* * *

><p><em>Max P.O.V.~<em>

"Here they are, sir." Ari stepped in, Mr. Man following behind him.

"Ah, thank you, Bone." He turned towards us after shooing Ari away. Ari saluted and left. "Ms. Ride. Mr. Bone has been telling me you've put up some resistance to our new plans of moving you."

What. A. Snitch. "Of course, sir. My parents always told me to stand by my heart and my decisions." _Before they decided to ditch me._

"Speaking of your parents, how are they? Did they tell you anything important?" He quizzed.

"Nope, other than the fact they were disowning me and leaving me here to rot." Iggy, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy gasped. "I told them to fuck off and never come again."

"You've got some spirit, Ms. Ride. I like that in a prisoner, but when they get a little carried away, I do have deal with it. See to it that you remain spirited but tolerant. If I hear that you have disrupted the prison, I will be forced to take actions."

"Aye, aye, sir." I imitated the salute Ari gave to him moments before.

"Very well. I will allow you to stay here, but do remember what I have told you. Listen to all the guards and please don't do anything rash," Mr. Man said.

"Yes, sir." I replied once again. I liked Mr. Man, but I don't take orders very well. I watched him leave the court, already dreaming up all kinds of trouble I could get into.

"So, guys, what do you think? You ready to make some mischief?" I asked everyone once Mr. Man left.

"You know it. What's on the agenda? Bombs? Explosions?" Iggy asked excitedly. God, I do believe I created a monster. That's okay, we were going to have fun. I smirked, and my 5 new friends suddenly looked very, very worried.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13: Complete.<strong>

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	14. The Plan

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride.**

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

**The Plan.**

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><p><em>Max P.O.V.~<em>

Time to make some mischief. "Even better. We're going to show this place who's boss, and though we've probably been here the least, we're going to be the first ones out. I think it's time we break out, don't you think?"

"That would be amazing!" Angel yipped, jumping up and down with happiness. She ran over and hugged Gazzy before planting a slobbery kiss on his cheek. Gazzy simply smiled at his younger sister.

"Awww... sweet!" Nudge commented, clasping her hands together. Her eyes focused on something far away as she left reality and entered an alternate universe.

Iggy rolled his eyes. "Girls," he muttered before snapping his fingers and jerking Nudge back to reality. She jumped and turned around to punch Iggy. Iggy, however, expected this and ducked at the last minute. "Ha!" He yelled triumphantly.

"Whatever," Nudge murmured. "So what are we going to do?" She asked turning back to me.

"What do you think? We are going to have some fun! Okay, any suggestions?" I prompted.

"Well, I'm leaning towards a giant paintball fight where everyone gets covered in goop including that awkward Batchelder guy, but since there is no paint, how about a Meatloaf Mania Monday... If we ever figure out when the next Monday is," Iggy suggested.

I have to admit. That sounded pretty raw and for those of you who aren't updated on the century's lingo, raw is slang for amazing. And yes, Meatloaf Mania Monday sounded pretty amazing.

"All we need is a couple hundred pounds of meatloaf and a calendar."

"Actually," I clarified, "all we need is a couple pounds of meatloaf and yes, a calendar would be helpful."

Once again, 5 pairs of eyes turned shockingly toward me as if I had suddenly grown antlers out of my head or maybe even a tail. Before continuing, I swiped my hand across the top of my head and my rear end to make sure my fantasy didn't come true. I mean, getting stuck in a jail cell with the hottest guy ever was pretty surreal too. However, I failed to notice Fang's eyes following my arms as I searched for the imaginary tail that could have grown.

"If we throw meatloaf at an unsuspecting person and then frame someone else by diverting attention to them, the person covered in meatloaf would attack them and maybe miss which in turn leads to a different person getting splattered with meatloaf. It's a chain reaction." I smiled smugly after completing my explanation.

Fang nodded. "My cellmate is an evil genius. Let's get started."

Angel and Gazzy giggled at that statement and shared a inconspicuous glance. "I know how to get the calendar," Angel stated timidly after tearing her gaze away from Gazzy's eyes.

"And how would you do that, sweetie?" Nudge asked gently. Hmm... looks like she's not all that tough either.

"I just need someone to yell really loud and get a guard to come down here. I'd rather not bring Ari down here because he seems pretty strong minded, but any other guard would do."

Iggy stepped forward smirking, "Excuse me ladies, but this would be my area of specialties." He cleared his throat before yelling, "I LIKES HAVING SEX WITH LLAMAS! OH, AND ONE OF THE PRISONERS IS ESCAPING!"

"Iggy!" I reprimanded, "There are children here. WATCH YOUR FUCKING LANGUAGE."

"It still worked though, didn't it," he said. Sure enough, the loud pattering sound of footsteps falling filled the hallway before 3 bulky guards entered the room, each carrying a large gun and a their taser in their belts.

"Where is the prisoner?!" The lead guard asked growling and shoving his taser forward.

"Oh, that. Well, you see. There was an ant inside our cell, therefore he would be a prisoner. Just a couple seconds ago, it walked out which technically means it's escaping, you see. If you look closely on the floor somewhere, you should be able to find it," Iggy stated.

The guard looked furious. His face turned an ugly shade of red, and his breaths came in ragged gulps. "That's what you called us down for?"

"No, I said I like having sex with llamas and that little girl down in the furthest cell has a question for you."

"Well, llama boy, this question better be worth my time, or I will be using that wonderful shock collar around your neck," the guard threatened.

"Oh, don't worry. It will be. Angel, you're up."

"Sir, can I please have a calendar?" She asked sweetly, her voice oozing with false sweetness so masterfully covered, it was hardly detectable. To quicken things up, she added bambi eyes. The most adorable, largest, bluest bambi eyes I had ever seen.

I tore my gaze away from her angelic face and forced my self to turn to the guard. Compared to Angel's onslaught of adorableness, the guard was a hideous beast. However, as he looked at Angel, his eyes melted and his face softened. He quirked his lips upwards in a smile before replying, "Of course, sweetie. How could I refuse?"

Dazed and disoriented, he walked out, the remaining 2 guards staring after him in confusion. The guard returned a few seconds later holding a brand new calendar in his hands. "Here you go."

"Thank you, sir. Thank you very much." Angel smiled sweetly up at the guards before the 3 of them strutted out, clearly puzzled about what had just happened.

"Um. Angel. It's great that we have a calendar and all, but do you know what day it is?" Gazzy asked his younger sibling.

"Oh, yeah. That could be a problem."

"Anyways, back to our scheming..." I interrupted.

_12 minutes, 52 seconds, and 13 milliseconds later:_

"Done! Finally! So when our we planning on doing this? How about tomorrow? Tomorrow sounds fine, doesn't it? Yeah, I think we should do this tomorrow. Oh, I can't wait to see everyone's faces when we start our plan!"

"Nudge, calm down. We'll do it tomorrow. Agreed?"

Five voices sounded. "Agreed."

"Good. For now, we wait," I said. "Goodnight, all."

I crawled back into Fang's and my cell and plopped onto the bottom bunk, curling myself into a little ball. Fang came at sat beside me while rubbing my back gently. His hands moved into little circles relieving the cramped muscles.

"You're a natural leader, Max," he whispered softly into my ears. "And I find that sexy."

I blushed. He bent down slowly and placed his lips upon mine. I felt the warmth radiating into me and tingles erupted within my body. You know the tingles that make your toes curl, your body shiver even when its not cold, and your heart pound. Yeah, those tingles. God, I sound like a sap.

Fang pressed his lips even tighter against mine before bringing his hand up and tangling it in my hair. I kissed back with equal abandon, my hands resting on the sides of his face, caressing his cheeks.

"Ahem. If you two are done with you intent lovemaking, I would like to go to sleep. I can hear your hearts pounding and the saliva being swapped all the way from here. And please, Fang, you know bro code. Bros before hos. Not that Max is a ho or anything, but why would you go after her if you knew I liked her."

"Very funny, Iggy." I said shyly, breaking away from Fang. I felt him pull back. "Maybe because he actually has a chance, and I'm living with him for the next however many years, months, weeks, or days."

"Logic makes no sense," Iggy decided stubbornly before turning away and heading back to bed.

* * *

><p>Tomorrow came too quickly for my liking. I would have loved to spend another 24 hours in bed, but alas, tis not to be so. I stretched out my arms, a sudden smile adorning my face. Today was the day.<p>

I jumped out of bed and climbed to the top bunk. "FANG. Get your sexy ass out of bed and get ready!" I yelled.

"Jeezus, Max," he said while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Unshaven, messy haired Fang that has just woken out bed is one amazing beast. I planted a light kiss on his lips and ran to the cell door.

"Iggy! Nudge! Angel! Gazzy! Wake up! Today's the day we be attackin'," I screamed at them. I was surprisingly very awake for morning time. I'm usually not a morning person, in case you couldn't tell.

"Dammit, Max. I'm trying to get my beauty sleep," Nudge groaned.

"Shit, Max! You should have let Nudge get her beauty sleep. She looks like a monster! Her hair is all tangled and..." he shuddered before trailing off. "OW!"

And that was the wonderful sound of Nudge smacking Iggy upside the head. I giggled, unusually.

Less then 20 minutes later, two adorable babies, a nearly tamed haired Nudge, a red faced Iggy that constantly rubbed the back of his head, a beautiful man, and little ole' me were collected and taken to breakfast... or maybe lunch? Oh, and the most amazing thing: My wheel chair was left in the dusty little corner of our cell. I wake up this morning and _tada! _I'm magically healed; good as new.

I shuffled behind our guards keeping my head low and staring at my bare feet while trying to keep the smile off my face. It didn't work.

"HEY. Why are you smiling? Finally realized how silly your face is?" Ari snarled while creeping up behind me. I didn't jump or even react; I just kept walking. Interesting fact about moi, Maximum Ride: I don't _get _scared. Not a single little thing. Never have been scared, and that's why I find haunted houses stupid and males who take their girlfriends to haunted houses even stupider.

Apparently, Ari didn't appreciate my silence, "Answer me, you little punk. Don't think I won't hesitate to use your collar." Yeah, the downside to leaving my wheelchair behind also meant I got my collar back. Whoop dee dee dah.

"I'm just really looking forward to that DELICIOUS cafeteria food we're just about to have. We've been here longer than a month I'm sure, and we've had the same thing everyday! And I'm not sick of it yet. Can you believe that? Oh, and by the way, I might need to tell you this so that your tiny brain can understand: all I said before, was sarcasm!" I retorted, adding a little snort in there for the heck of it.

"You little bitch. I hope you like your stay in prison because I'm going to make your life hell."

"You said that last time... I think. See your ugly face is making me lose my memory. Whatever, anyways. It's not as if could get any worse."

"You'll be surprised," Ari said with an evil grin adorning his features. He bent down, his hot breath steaming over my ear. I shivered in disgust, "Princess, things can always get a lot worse."

"Ah. Now get your creepy pedophile face away from my head," I screamed.

"Sure thing, Princess. Just remember what I said."

I snuck a glance at Fang. His face was red and fuming. He looked as if he wanted to kill something and that something was most likely going to be Ari. Aww... poor Mr. Bone. Looks like he won't be getting a girlfriend anytime soon. I mean, Fang's a trained assassin. A very hot trained assassin. Who's staring right at me.

I smiled at him and gave a small wave before sticking a finger in my open mouth and feigning a gag. He chuckled at this along with Iggy, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy.

I cannot wait. We walked down the empty white corridors for more minutes. Every passage we turned into looked exactly the same as the previous one. I knew there were doors behind the whitewashed walls, some even leading to more holding cells with more captive prisoners, but I couldn't see anything but white. There was a time when white used to be my favorite color, but now, I'm just sick of it. I could do with some orange.

"Ari. Can you paint the walls orange?" My five prison mates stared at me confused, and Ari just rolled his eyes.

"No. Now shut your trap. We're here. You know the drill. Got 10 minutes to eat then get the hell out so I can take you back to your cells."

Ari pushed open a pair of doors that miraculously appeared in the blank walls before shoving us inside. The fifty or so other inmate turned towards us scanning us once over as they did everyday before returning to their meal. I swear, this prison ran like clockwork. Everything the exact same, every single day after every single day. And it was time to change it up.

I nodded at Gazzy who in turn, nodded back. Iggy came up behind me and I whispered, "You know what to do. You're the sneak. Throw a glop at the meanest looking person you see." Turning to Fang, I continued, "You got your part too, don't you Fangy boy?"

He smirked, and all to sexily added, "Of course, Mommy."

I walked over to the buffet overflowing with varieties of food. Meatloaf a la mode, meatloaf a la carte, meatloaf on a bun minus the bun, and meatloaf sundaes. One can never have enough meatloaf.

Slowly, I piled my plate up with as much as it could carry, and walked steadily towards our empty table at the back. It had officially become our table ever since we sat there the first time. I made sure not to trip while snicker erupted around me, "That's a lot of meatloaf Ride. Your dragrag emo boyfriend get you pregnant?"

"Ha, at least I got laid before you. The only people you've ever slept with are your teddy bear and your mommy," I was about to slip past the man, a smug smile on my face, when I 'accidentally' tripped on my untied shoelace. The meatloaf from my tray flew through the air and landed right smack on his face and began to drip down into his jumper. "Oops."

"Oh, now you're going to get it!" He grabbed a handful of meatloaf hanging on the side of his face and flung it at me. I ducked at the last minute while watching the meatloaf hit Fang. Everything was according to plan, and I laughed at Fang's dramatic acting.

"What the fuck was that for, bastard! I'm going to cut you into little pieces and feed you to the dogs you little fucker!" Fang grabbed the meatloaf in his plate and threw it but missed... on purpose of course. Instead it hit the tattooed woman sitting behind Mr. I'veonlysleptwithmyteddybearan dmymommy. I turned just in time to see Iggy fling his meatloaf at an unsuspecting yet very threatening man and then duck behind a chair, hiding out of view.

"HEY! Who threw that?" Tattooed woman and Igyy's target screamed at the same time. Fang and I automatically pointed to Mr. I'veonlysleptwithmyteddybearan dmymommy, his eyes narrowing and glaring at us before he once again got pelted with meatloaf. I silently crept away, Fang hot on my tail.

I sniggered. "I can't believe we actually did that!" We watched as the meatloaf flew across the cafeteria. Then Angel came in with a guard, pointing at Mr. I'veonlysleptwithmyteddybearan dmymommy.

Immediately, the guard rushed over and pressed the button on his remote. Mr. Ioswmtbamm, because I'm too lazy to say his whole name, instantly fell to the floor writhing in pain. Gazzy, Iggy, Nudge, and Angel all ran over to where Fang and I hid in the corner with faux shock and surprise plastered on our face.

"Guards! Please arrest Maximum Ride and bring her to my office. Once again, bring Maximum Ride to me." An mysterious voice announced. Never knew they had a loud speaker here. Well, looks like I'm busted.

I smiled as the guards ran over and pinned my arms behind my back, shoving me out of the room. I turned back to my group and winked, still smiling. Little did I know. Ari was right, and I so never thought I would ever say that. Things were only going to get a lot worse.

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><p><strong>Chapter... something. Okay, so here's the deal. I know this wasn't the chapter you guys were expecting. Probably had nothing in that you wanted, but this was a filler chapter. I'm sorry for not updating in forever, but college is keeping me really busy. <strong>**And yeah. **

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	15. The Truth

**The Truth.**

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><p><em>Max P.O.V. ~<em>

The guards dragged me through the cafeteria. Everyone's eyes were trained on me. Gee, I do love being the center of entertainment. In fact, 50 pairs of eyes staring at me, a girl covered in stray meatloaf, is just what every girl in the world wants.

Pushing me along roughly, they dragged me. Through the hallways: white everywhere. God, this place was annoying. It took at least 10 minutes and 3 flights of stairs before we got to our destination. Mr. Batchelder's room.

"Hello, Maximum," Mr. Batchelder said as soon as I 'entered' the room. Read the word in quotations as 'forced into' or even 'shoved into' shall suffice.

"Hello, Jeb," I retorted while rolling my eyes. He still insisted on calling me Maximum. What an idiot.

"What did I say about calling me Jeb, Maximum. You will listen to me. Go sit on the couch, legs crossed for only such is proper for a lady," Jeb continued.

I rolled my eyes. 'Only such is proper for a lady'? What the hell? When did this start? Hasn't he ever gone to a club? Oh, wait. Nevermind. "What did I say about calling me Maximum, Jeb?" I retorted. However, I still followed instructions. Shocking, I know. I walked over to the couch and plopped down, propping my feet on the clear glass coffee table in front of it. I did make sure to spread my legs as wide as possible without making myself look slutty though, just to annoy him.

"Fine. We have a deal. I call you Max and you call me Mr. Batchelder. Now, close your legs."

"I bet you've never even had a girl open her legs for you, Mr. Batchelder," I remarked, putting emphasis on the 'Mr. Batchelder' while rolling my eyes. Once again, I decided to listen and immediately closed my legs. What is the world coming too?

"Thank you. You see, Max. I've called you here for a reason. What you have been led to believe isn't exactly the truth. The School isn't a prison. It's an institute or a scientific laboratory to be exact. The prisoners here are our test subjects. Nobody cares about them because nobody knows they exist. They've all been dead for over 3 years," he began.

"What are you getting at Jeb? Oh, sorry, Mr. Batchelder," I added with a hint of sarcasm. By a 'hint', I mean it was oozing sarcasm.

"What I'm getting at is we want you to be one of our test subjects. We've been watching you, and you're perfect for the job. In fact, with your personality and body, you'll be our most successful one yet. Maybe... yes. You'll do. We're attempting a new combination this year, and you'll be the one with the honor."

"So, what you're saying is I'm not a prisoner, I'm going to be a fucking test subject! And I'm going to be experimented on. Let me guess, it's going to hurt more than anything I've ever experienced. But that's not the worst part. I bet, you manipulated the court hearing and convinced the judge to send me hear. I could have been at home! I've wasted time I could have spent with my family in here! Oh, wait. They are not my family anymore," I finished dejectedly, remembering Ella's verbal assault at me. I cringed at the thought and I could feel the tears sting my eyes, but I stopped them. Jeb Batchelder wasn't going to see me cry. No one was.

"About that, Max. That didn't actually happen. Since we're disclosing to you the truth about this prison, we might as well tell you the truth about your family as well," Jeb started nervously. Oh, he had a goddamn good reason to be nervous. Just wait till I was done with him. What the hell did he do to my family?

"Yes, continue," I snarled, hopefully threateningly. A girl covered in meatloaf wasn't much of a threat, really.

Jeb tugged at his collar. Beads of sweat trickled down his annoyingly white head. "Max. That family that you saw wasn't real. I do believe Ari told you that your family thought you were dead. I don't know how you forgot. You spent most of the time during your trial in a trancelike coma, so it was easy to convince them you died. From what they know, Maximum Ride is currently living 6 feet under the ground in a cemetery not far from their home."

"What. Are. You. Saying?"

"I'm saying: your family thinks you're dead, and we need you to help us with a project. What do you say?"

"What do I say?! Why? What makes you think that I'll help you after all you've done! You stole my family from me! I didn't even get to say goodbye! There were so many things I had to tell them! Why do you think I'll want to help you!" I yelled. I had to get out this frustration. It had been building, ever so slowly, since I got here, and now, it was ready to cut loose. "You filthy little bastard! You stole all these other kids too, didn't you?! You're planning to get them to help you in your little project as well! Well, I say, go to hell," I spat out finally.

"Not the best idea, Maxie. You see. I still know where your family lives, and I keep track of everything they do." Jeb pulled out a file. "Ooh. Look here. It seems your little sister Ella has a new boyfriend. Someone by the name of Jason Martinez. Star of the football team, fastest boy on track, and all around A-student."

Then he pulled out some pictures from the file. Ella... and Jason. Together. Hand-in-hand. Walking home. Saying goodbye. Quick peck on the cheek. Blush. Turn around and wave. A smile. Hand on the doorknob. Open door. Step in. Look back. He's still there. Another blush. Wave. Smile. Walk in. Door close.

What the hell.

"What are you planning to do with all these photos?" I asked while flipping through the many others. Ella and Jason. At school. In the cafeteria. With their friends. In the classroom. Ella's doodle. Jason's scrap notes. And then Mom. Her favorite cookbook. Posing in the mirror. Clothes she wore to work. Even the keys on the table. Dad too. His tie. Him tying his tie. Applying gel. Shaving. Everything. Every single thing that used to be part of MY goddamn life.

These guys were practically living in my house.

"We have to convince you to join our cause, and I thought these will come in handy if I need an extra push, and so here they are. You better choose carefully, Maximum. Your friends outside are next on the list after your family. Or maybe even before. Don't think we haven't seen how close you and that Fang boy are." Jeb grinned. A very, very evil grin. I didn't like it.

"You. Don't even think about laying a hand on my friends. Otherwise...otherwise... I'll kill you. Right here, right now," I growled out. My hands clenched into fists at my sides and my knees bent slightly. I stood in the beginning fighting stance prepared to leap at any second.

"You wouldn't want your friends to get hurt, would you Max? Bring them in!" He yelled while motioning with his fingers. Almost immediately the door was thrown open and multiple guards rushed inside, each carrying someone I held dear. 2 guards held Angel and Gazzy, 2 guards held Nudge, 2 guards held Iggy, and 5 guards including Ari held Fang. Fang looked just about ready to crush someone's skull. He kept struggling against the guards; his face was contorted into an angry grimace. He looked up. Our eyes met. I smiled at him. A small smile.

I turned back towards Jeb. "Do you promise no one will get hurt? Swear it. Give it to me in writing. Pinky promises don't work any more. I need leverage over you to make sure you'll keep your promise."

"MAX! No! Don't do it! He's tricking you! Whatever he says, don't believe him!" Gazzy screamed before his guard clamped his hand over his mouth muffling the shouts.

"If leverage is what you need, then you'll get it. In fact you already have it. Nobody knows about this place, especially not the government. Tell them about what we do here, and the whole place will fall apart."

"Don't worry, Gazzy. I'll be fine." I smiled back at him before turning to Jeb. "Deal. Now, let my friends go."

Jeb nodded and all the guards released their captives. Fang immediately came up to me, wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me against his chest; he did this all while giving Jeb the scariest glare I have ever seen. Jeb flinched back. _Yes._

"You will not take Max," Fang snarled.

"Fang. You don't have to worry. I'm doing this to save you and my family. I promise. I'll be fine," I pleaded. Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel stared on, frozen in their spots.

He ignored me. Typical. "Take me instead."

Jeb quirked an eyebrow. "WHAT!?" I yelled. "There is no way I'm going to let you do that. You have to protect Gazzy, Angel, Nudge, and Iggy."

"Who says we need protecting?" Iggy and Gazzy asked at the same time.

"Guys, guys. Please. Stop your bickering. If Fang volunteers then we'll of course consider it," Jeb said. His face, twisted into a devilish grin, turned 3 shades darker.

"I Volunteer!"

"Ok. Perfect. Fang, you and Max will be preformed on," Jeb agreed. I was shocked. What an evil bastard.

"No Max. Just me." Ever the talkative one Fang was.

"I'm sorry Fang. You see, unknown to Max, the only reason the six of you were captured was because you are the perfect people. Your body, soul, and spirit is perfect for the experiment we have in mind. All six of you will be our lab rats, and there is nothing you can do about it."

Fang let go of me and lunged at Jeb. He launched himself across the desk with a roar, his body flying almost like an arrow. Jeb hit the ground with a thud as Fang landed on him. Fang grunted and began to punch the man with glasses. Each punch resulted in a sickening yet satisfying crack.

"Save some for us too, Fang. You can't beat his ass up too bad."

"Yeah, I want to get some punches on my own in there too. Maybe a couple kicks to a private place. He won't ever be able to do _it _when I'm done with him. He'll probably die a virgin." Only Iggy. Only Iggy could come up with that.

"Dude. Isn't it against the mancode to hit someone in their balls? It's just not right," Gazzy whimpered.

"Then I'll do it. He's gone against the humancode so why shouldn't Iggy go against mancode, but since you're not comfortable, I'll be happy to do it for you," Nudge offered.

"Just don't hurt him too much. He's still human," little, adorable, sweet Angel said. "I'm sure ripping his eyeballs out won't hurt too much, so be sure to do that for me." That's my girl.

In all this commotion, all of us failed to notice where Jeb's right hand was. Slowly, it creeped along the floor, opened the door, and pulled out a gun. Nothing bigger than 5 inches, a peashooter good for one bullet.

Fang was punching Jeb. Iggy was cheering him on. I was watching with a mixture of glee and horror. Nudge added a couple kicks of her own aimed at Jeb's crotch area while Gazzy and Angel cheered her on. Jeb pulled the trigger.

The sound echoed through the cramped and crowded wound: a single gunshot.

Fang staggered back, clutching his shoulder as blood poured through his fingers. Again, Jeb smiled. Nudge stopped kicking him, and Iggy, Angel, and Gazzy fell silent.

"FANG!" I ran to him. He looked up, complete horror locked in his eyes. He staggered back some more allowing Jeb to wriggle free. The bullet had pierced Fang almost directly above his heart and tore completely through the flesh and bones burying itself in the wall behind Fang.

At the sound of the gunshot, the guards rushed into the room. Seeing Jeb lying on the floor, they immediately pulled our their weapons, but on noticing Fang and me, they reholstered their guns. Instead they pulled Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy and Angel away and kept them firmly within grasp.

I picked Fang up gently, but still, he winced. I cradled him in my arms. His face was becoming paler and paler. The blood was still pouring through his fingers as he himself applied pressure to the wound. Through his black outfit, I couldn't see the color of his blood, but I sure could smell it. The air around him was tainted with the scent of copper. Fang's mouth opened and closed, his breathing: ragged.

"Fang, stay awake you dumbass. You are not going to die on me," I whispered.

By now, Jeb had gotten up and thrown his little deathly peashooter across the room. "I'm sorry to have had to do that, Max, but now their is only one way to save him. He's going to have to be operated on, and during this operation we're going to test him. He's lost too much blood and he's going to die if you don't let us do it."

"I see. Was this your plan all along?" I asked in a voice too silent for even me to hear.

"Pardon? I'm sorry Max. Oh, there's one more thing. With the amount of blood he's lost, he's not going to survive the experiment until he has a blood transfusion. But he can't have a blood transfusion because his blood will be genetically altered. You're going to have to become an experiment too if you want to save him. Then we can give your blood to him. Understand."

I held Fang as his breathing became slower and slower. His tanned olive skin lost color by the second and his eyes were drained.

"Save him. Dammit, just save him," I cried. "I'll go along with your stupid plan."

"That's a good girl, Max. Now just let go of him so we can carry him down to laboratory," Jeb answered. Of course, there was no hint of remorse of guilt. Shooting a somewhat innocent teenager seemed as simple as brushing your teeth. He nodded to Ari and the excess guards. Two came and pinned my hands behind my back while the other four picked Fang up roughly. A loud groan escaped his pursed lips.

"Stop, you're hurting him!" Angel screamed, thrashing against her guard.

"Oh, don't worry Angel. This is nothing compared to what he will have to go through if he wants to survive. We might just have to toughen him up some," Jeb retorted. "Oh, and Ari. Could you please show these five experiments to their new living quarters, and give them some new clothing. Also, fatten them up with something. We need them to be perfectly healthy before we start the experiments."

"No, let me go with Fang," I insisted.

"If you must. Ari, change of plan. Take Max here down to the old laboratory with her little boyfriend. Cross take these four to the cells," Jeb amended. Cross, one of the guards assisting with the carrying of Fang, walked over to where Iggy, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy were. He motioned to the guards pinning them down and slowly they filed out of Jeb's office.

"He's not my boyfriend," I argued stubbornly once the four had gone.

"Oh, really. Then why do you guys make out every five minutes?" Ari smirked.

"Not every five minutes! Twice! That's it!" I pointed out, huffing.

"Oh, so somebody's been counting?" I couldn't stop it. I blushed at Ari's words.

"Shut up, Ari. I will castrate you. You probably haven't even kissed a girl yet."

Ari grinned. "That's because I don't want to kiss girls, Maximum. Especially none like you. I prefer a more direct approach."

"You don't want to kiss girls? Oh, that's right. It's because you're gay. I remember you telling me that. You clearly said, 'I'm gay for Mr. Batchelder', didn't you?" Now it was my turn to smirk.

"You little bi..."

"Ari! Shut up and bring her to the laboratory," Jeb called.

"Yes, sir," Ari stated glumly. I smirked and made little kissing noises with my lips. He glared at me.

I saw the three remaining guards follow Jeb out his office while carrying Fang between them. My heart sank. _You little bastard, Fang. You better be okay!_

I obediently followed after Fang's dying body, staring at the ground as I shuffled forward in a trance. My mood for witty banter with Ari had vanished when I saw Fang being carried out. My thoughts were anywhere except Earth and mostly revolved around Fang. I followed down the corridor simply walking. I could hear the footsteps echo along the walls, each step amplified at least 10x.

If I had known what they were going to do to Fang and I, just maybe I would let him die. Maybe I would have grabbed a gun and shot myself too, but I didn't know what was going to happen. I was just about to find out.

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><p><em><strong>~.~<strong>_

_**I think I've been here before**_

_**I think I've run into you**_

_**I know the things that you do**_

_**'Cause this is ...**_

_**~.~**_

**Guess the song? . **

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	16. The Change

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride.**

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

**The Change.**

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><p><em>Max P.O.V~ <em>

The first thing I noticed was how different the atmosphere was. Everything had changed. As I trailed behind the party, Jebhead realized I was lagging behind.

"Keep up, Maximum. The faster you walk, the faster we get to our destination."

I ignored him. He sighed. "Guards."

A guard who was not assigned to transporting Fang dropped back, placed his hands under arms, and dragged me along. My feet scuffed against the floor. I was being dragged along Fang's limp body by a bulky guard, not even bothering to resist. All I heard was the slow, faint painful breaths Fang took and the slight rise and fall of his chest.

He was alive. For now. But for how much longer?

They said they needed him for an experiment, but what kind of experiment? Would they kill him? Oh, please. They couldn't hurt him. They just couldn't.

But yes, the first thing I noticed (other than Fang, I should add) was the strange surrounding. The halls were the same, white and never-ending, but there was a new aura around the entire area. Can walls even have auras? What would they say? _I'm a motherfucking wall. Get out of my way. _The only other difference was the people.

Little people. Fat people. Skinny people. Tall people. Ugly people. More ugly people. Even uglier people. Normal people. Pretty people. Anime-obsessed people. Yes, one people had a Hetalia Hearts Homestuck badge on her labcoat. Did I mention all these people wore lab coats?

Why would there be scientists in a damn prison? Too many questions. I just want to sleep. _No, watch Fang. Keep watching Fang. _And so, I did. I watched as his arms swung loosely by his sides. I watched as his face scrunched up as the pain overwhelmed him. I watched as the blood kept pouring out of the wound. I watched as the guards carried him roughly along with no care whatsoever. And I watched as his lips mumbled incoherently.

I watched until we got to a shiny black door. And later I would begin to call this door, the Door to Death. It certainly did have that aura about it. Skulls and crossbones adorned the heavy metal block. In addition to a lock and key, there was a keypad, a retina scanner, a fingerprint thing, and a voice checker. Talk about security. Either they didn't want people to get in, or they didn't want people to get out.

Jeb completed all the security measures and the doors opened with a soft click. He shoved the doors forward, but they didn't move an inch. Despite my depressed mood, I managed to cough, "Weak."

Jebhead turned and glared at me. Of course. He stepped back and pushed Ari forward to open the door. Ari leaned his weight against the wall and shoved. Slowly, the door began to inch forward. The door opened wide. The smell of chemicals hit me full on, and I staggered back.

"What is this place?" I questioned carefully stepping over the threshold into the chemically sterile and absolutely white Ikea-sized room. The hall was filled with an exercise area to my right, and to my left, was a lab. Actually, it was more of a surgeons ward. Operating tables and equipment littered the floor, each machine blending in with the germ less, white background. The whole scene struck me as... haunting.

The guards carrying Fang unceremoniously dumped him on the nearest operating table.

"Please escort Ms. Ride to the nearest holding cell," Jeb announced.

"No! I have to be with Fang!" I screamed finally attempting to struggle against my captor's grip.

"You're not permanently glued to his side, Max. Though if you want, we could arrange that," Ari said with a smirk.

I opened my mouth to retort with some sarcastic comment about rearranging his face, but Jeb beat me to it, "Stop your quabbling, peasants."

Instead of punching Ari, I decided to stare at Jeb. Did he just call me a peasant? Apparently, Ari had similar ideas. "Did you just call us peasants?" He asked.

"Yes, yes I did. Now get a move along. Grab Maximum and relocate her so we can begin our resurrection of Fang."

"Fang's not dead. You can't resurrect him," I insisted.

"You're correct, but we can reconstruct him. We can form him, build him, so that everything he does will be because we want him too. If you ever want to see him again, you might just have to obey us. We're going to alter Fang's mind. He won't remember you, nor everything else. In fact, we just might make if so that he hates you. He hates you so much, that he kills you. And then we'll make him wake up. We'll force him to see your dead body and tell him it was all his fault," Jeb sneered.

"No! Who the hell gave you permission to mess with people's brains! You can't change him! You're going to fix him, and that's that!" I screamed.

"Ari..." Jeb groaned impatiently.

"Yes sir." Ari grabbed my arms, lifting me clear off the floor. He slung me across his shoulders; my fists pounded into his shoulders. I craned my neck, keeping it level with my eyes on Fang's body and Jeb's malicious face.

"No!" I shouted again. "No! No! No! No! No! Jeb, I swear, if you kill him or change him in any way, I will kill you. I will come back and murder you. I will rip your arms off your body, then your legs, and then reattach them with needles and staples. I'll wax every single hair off your body. And then'll I castrate you, so you and Ari can never be together again! And then I'll stab you with pencils and needles before making you run twenty marathons and eating the most disgusting food on Earth. And then, only then, will you die. And then I'll burn this place down!"

He chuckled. "Maximum, Maximum, Maximum. You have such a strong spirit and imagination. I'll make you a deal. I'll save Fang, but then I'll change you, instead. Do you agree with that?" He suggested.

"Fine." He raised an eyebrow and motioned for Ari to put me down. Then he called over a couple doctors in white lab coats and pointed at Fang. Fang's face was covered in sweat and effort to stay alive. Immediately, they began to work. They pulled out their tools. Knifes, scissors, scalpels, anything that they could get their hands on. They began to prod.

Fang screamed. The most horrible scream anyone could have ever heard. He screamed, and he didn't stop. My eyes widened. They weren't saving him. They were hurting him!

"Ari, take Max to the holding cells for the experiments now, please." And once again, Ari grabbed me, slung me over his shoulder, and took me across the room to the opposite door. He placed his hands on the scanner and typed in the code before the door slid open. We stepped in, my eyes never leaving Fang's shaking and screaming body.

The door slid closed behind us. It went from complete white to instant dark. Everything was dark, but I could still see. The new room was large, but not as large as the previous one. The walls were lined with cages and crates, but they weren't empty. The metal bars encased people. Animals. Thing in between. I stared around in horror. Green eyes stared back at me. Yellow, red, orange eyes stared back at me. Mouths opened and growled, revealing the dripping saliva and razor teeth. Claws scratched against the cages, and the shrill screeches echoed across the cavern.

Each cage contained a monster.

The School wasn't a prison.

It was a laboratory.

And. They. Made. Monsters.

They were going to make Fang and I monsters.

Oh god.

I struggled against Ari. I couldn't be here. I had to get out. These monsters were broken creatures. They stared at me. They were going to break me too. This place was trying to break us.

Ari finally reached an empty cage. He unlocked the cage and threw me inside. He closed the door and locked it behind him. "Goodnight, Max," he smirked.

I crawled to the farthest side of the cage and curled up into a ball. I could feel the stares upon me as I huddled deeper into the cage and further into the metal bars. Oh god. _I don't want to break. _I told myself. And I wasn't. I stared back into the eyes penetrating me, glaring and mustering as much strength as I could.

"I will not break," I said aloud. "I will not break." And then I drifted off to sleep, visions of eyes swarming my dreams.

* * *

><p><em>Iggy P.O.V. ~ <em>

"Where did they take Max and Fang?!" I yelled, punching the wall.

"Calm down, Iggy. I'm sure they're fine. Jeb probably just took Fang to the doctor we visited when Max kinda broke her back, and Max is probably just keeping him company as they fix him right back up."

"Ever the optimist, aren't you Nudge?"

"Well, someone's got to provide the hope and comfort and since Mother Max ain't here to do, I thought I may as well fill in the spot. She will be back you know." It was firm and confident. Nudge really did believe Max was going to come back. She should be fine, but with psychos like Jeb running around this place, who really knew anymore?

The guards, after separating us from Max and Fang, brought us back to our original jail cells. Nudge and I in one, Gazzy and Angel in the other, and no one is the third cell.

"Guys, Max and Fang are in trouble!" Angel declared, her head suddenly snapping up to attention and her eyes filled with fear. Gazzy immediately went to her side and held her as she tried to attack the metal bars holding her in.

"Angel. How do you know?" I asked, carefully. I knew something was off about the way Jeb smuggled us out, but I didn't really expect there to be any real danger.

"I don't. Call it... a premonition, if you will. An epiphany. A guess. I don't know. But I do have this really bad feeling that they are in really bad trouble. My gut is telling me this," she insisted.

"If she says her gut is telling her, than listen to her intestines guys. I know mine aren't properly functioning, but her's are usually right."

That was definitely something Gazzy would say.

"Okay guys. Then we'll need a plan to get out of here to help them. Any ideas?"

"Ummm... guys," Angel started.

"Not now, Angel. The big guys need to talk," Gazzy interrupted before continuing. "We could always ask the guards to release us, but that probably won't work. Maybe I could use my amazing superpowers to get us out of here?"

"Uh, what superpowers Gazzy? We're human remember?" Nudge countered.

"You know. The digestive track problem," he hinted.

"Definitely not. We'd die before any guards actually smell anything down here."

"We could try hacking the computers. That's Nudge's area, correct?"

"If you didn't notice, smartass. We don't have any computers which I could use to hack. What do you want me to do? Use my super special mental powers to hack computers without touching a single one? Yeah, sure. Because that's totally probable."

"Well, I guess that's out."

"Any other ideas?"

"GUYS!"

Gazzy rolled his eyes. "What, Angel?"

"The doors are open," she said softly before pushing her door out. The metal gate creaked yet inched forward.

"Oh, well that's convenient," I stated emotionlessly. "But how are we going to get out?"

Angel and Gazzy carefully stepped out into the circular court. Gazzy ran out down the hall that led into the court area and check both directions before returning. "It's all clear. There are no guards down here."

Angel, in the meantime, skipped over to our cell as she hummed underneath her breath. And I literally mean skipped. Like a fucking bunny. She stopped short of the cell and punched in some numbers on the keypad. The gate opened with a soft clicking noise.

I stared at her, the surprise on my face evident. My eyes were practically bulging out of my face. "How did you do that? Don't you need a key as well?"

"You obviously weren't paying attention. They never locked the door with the keys, and they purposely left ours open. They want us to escape from this hellhole. It's a trap. And it's one we're going to _accidentally _fall into."

Who knew little ol' Angel was so smart and observant? "And why are we going to fall into this trap," Gazzy asked. He had no clue what was going on.

"Because it's what they want us to do. Now, come on! We still need to find them."

"One problem."

"And what would that be?"

"We have no fucking clue where they are," I said.

Angel looked surprised before understanding what I said. She let out of long, "Ohhhhhhhh. I didn't think of that."

"Yeah. Ohhhhhhhhh." I mocked sarcastically. Not my best idea. Nudge whacked my arm with her palm. "Owww." I complained while rubbing my now sore arm.

"How are we going to save Max and Fang if you keep acting like an idiot?" Nudge questioned threateningly. She walked out of our cell and into the empty court. Turning, she began to walk down the hallway leading to maze of passageways. She didn't even bother to check if any guards were around. I suppose Angel was right. They did want us to escape. Angel and Gazzy followed behind Nudge. Their dirty, bare feet not making a single noise against the tile floors. I looked down at my feet, also caked with dirt. The jumpsuits we were each given were torn and muddied already, and we still hadn't been given a change. Nudge looked back at me expectingly, "Are you coming?"

"I am not acting like an idiot," I insisted, but I gave in and began to follow her, Angel and Gazzy. This was a bad idea, but I suppose with it being the only idea we had, we couldn't have done much better.

"How are we going to get through this maze?" Angel asked shyly.

"Keep your left hand on one wall." Nudge demonstrated by pressing her palm flat against the wall to her left side. "And then just keep walking. This way, you'll always make it through the maze."

"But we don't need to make it through the maze. We need to find Max and Fang." Still Gazzy followed Nudge's instructions and began to trail after her.

"_Psst. _Come hither," a voice sounded. I, bringing up the end of our single filed line, whirled around to determine where the voice came from. Up ahead, Nudge did the exact same thing. _  
><em>

"Over here. In the wall. Can't you see the door." The muffled voice came from right beside my ears. I carefully stepped away from the wall and ran my hands over the area the voice was coming from. All I could feel was the cool concrete walls against my fingertips, yet I continued. Seconds later, my hands dipped before returning back to the flat surface. _Found it_.

I ran my hands over the grooves searching for a switch, a knob, anything that could open the door. Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel gathered behind me and waited patiently.

"Oh, hurry up! I don't have all day!" The voice yelled. I jumped back in surprise and rubbed my ears.

"You don't have to make me deaf, you know!" I yelled back at the empty wall. Yup, that's just me. Going around, yelling at talking, white walls. Perfectly normal.

"Well, if you went faster I wouldn't have to yell at you!" The wall yelled back. Okay, there had better be a person behind this wall because if I am really talking to a wall, Nudge will never let me live this down. That and I just might have to be accepted into a mental institute. Talking walls, bahumbug.

"I found it!" I screamed after a few seconds. And I had. A couple inches from the deepest groove was a hidden button. I slowly pressed it into the wall and watched as the door simply vanished. On the other side... no one. Not a single soul. It was just a closet. "Damnit! I really was talking to a wall!"

"No, you weren't. Enter," the voice said. Okay, if that's not weird then I don't know what is.

"Well, we have no other choice," Nudge shrugged as she stepped into the closet. "We're going to the closet."

"We're going on a trip," Angel continued with a smile.

"We're going to the closet?" I asked confused.

"To grab our stuff and split," Gazzy finished.

"Are you guys done acting like freaks?" The voice asked. I stepped into the closet with the others before the door slammed closed behind us leaving us in complete darkness. Oh, this is not good.

"We're not really the freaks here. You are a voice with no body who just locked us in a closet for goodness sakes," Angel argued.

"First of all, I have a body. Second of all, this is an elevator. I'm going to program this elevator to take you to where Max is. You're going to have to help her get out. Tell her Alex sent you to save her. You guys are going to have to leave Fang behind. But remember, if you're caught, there is no way I can help you. You guys are dead meat. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Loud and clear."

"We get it."

"Dead meat. Don't like the sound of that." We all chorused at the same time.

"Good luck," Alex's voice echoed around us before fading out. Alex must have pressed a button or charged up the elevator because as soon as her voice disappeared, so did the floor beneath us. By that I mean, the elevator dropped so fast, all four bodies were being smashed against the ceiling of the elevator. And then the elevator changed directions. God, this is like _Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator_ all over again except darker and less fun.

We landed minutes later with a resounding and collective, "Oomph." The doors slid open again and all four of us tumbled out into the darkness.

"Max," Angel called out softly, "are you here?"

"Angel, is that you?" Someone answered back.

"Max! You're alive. Where are you?" Gazzy replied. Slowly, I began moving through the darkness, my hands reaching out for anything they touch. Groping around in the darkness, I finally managed to grab a metal pole.

"Max, do you know what this place is?" Nudge asked.

"Yes, and you guys shouldn't be here. Try to stay in the center and away from everything on the side," she responded.

"Why?" I asked curiously. She didn't answer, but I immediately knew why. My hand, holding on the metal pole, suddenly felt wet and sticky. I turned to examine what just happened only to come eye to eye with a pair of orange orbs. I screamed, and I'm secure enough in my manhood to acknowledge that, yes, it sounded like a girl's scream.

"Guys, just stay in the middle where you are. Don't move," I informed the rest of them quietly. I yanked my drool-dripping hand away from the bars and stumbled back to join Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy.

"Look what we have here. Four more contestants. Well, let's see what we can do with these participants shall we?" A new voice joined in. I felt myself being yanked back. I could hear Angel's and Gazzy's panicked screams and grunts, probably from the man holding Nudge.

"NO! Leave them alone. You said you would only use me!" Max screamed from wherever she was.

"Oops, we lied." I turned around and stared right into the sneering face of a mutated werewolf. The last thing I saw before the blackness was the dog's paw swiping through the air, the yellow eyes gleaming with excitement, and fangs. Not Fang, but fangs. Real, salivating fangs. Not good.

* * *

><p><strong>Last chapter: Deja Vu by 3OH3!<strong>

**...**

_**What you found was a lost, lonely heart  
>Torn into pieces<br>With you I feel like myself**_

**_Nothing but gold when we're together_**  
><strong><em>You were my one forever<em>**  
><strong><em>Feels like I'm falling<em>**  
><strong><em>But I never touch the ground<em>**

**_..._**

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	17. The Experiment

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride.**

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

**The Experiment.**

* * *

><p><em>Fang P.O.V.~<em>

When I finally opened my eyes, all I could see was white. White walls, white ceiling, just white. I tried to look around me, but I just couldn't seem to move my head. Slowly, my eyelids fell shut again. Just keeping my eyes open was excruciating.

"Subject 584 is waking up, sir," I heard from around me. Everything was echoing in my head and the speaker's voice seemed to be coming from all around me. I struggled to focus on the direction of the voice, but I could barely even open my eyes.

"Good. When he's fully awake, perform some tests on him to ensure that he's functioning and his body isn't rejecting The Change. Then throw him in the cages with the rest of them and bring out the girl. She's the one we should really be focusing on," another voice said.

"But, Mr. Batchelder. Shouldn't we wait a while so the subject can rest and regain his strength before testing him. We're doing this for the science, not to torture these children. Besides we should get better results when the subject is fully functioning," the first voice argued. By now, I had enough sense to realize this voice belonged to either a female or a man with an extremely feminine voice. Even more so than Justin Bieber.

"Are you doubting my decision, Miss Martinez?"

"No sir, I'm just questioning your method of doing things," Miss Martinez replied. Well, that girl had some guts standing up to the head of this entire prison. One wrong move could get you locked in one of the cells for a long amount of time. Even longer than the entire General Hospital series. For those of you who spend their lives obsessing over fandoms or have just been living under a rock for their entire life, the show, General Hospital, lasted over 20 years. Come on, this is coming from a half-dead assassin.

Back to the point, I, a half-dead assassin, liked this girl. Ms. Martinez could stand up for herself so what was she doing working for a control freak like Jeb? I managed a groan as the thought processes happening in my head caused physical pain. How could thinking cause pain? I groaned again.

Jeb actually laughed at her comment too. Looks like he's not a soulless piece of meat after all, but I still hate him. After what he did to Max... _Shit, Max. Where is she? _I thought frantically. I struggled to get up while ignoring the pain coming from my back, only to find my legs and arms to be tied down.

"Calm down, 584. Please, you'll injure yourself," Jeb laughed.

"Not any more than we've already injured him, sir. Please let me release the restraints. He's probably just worried about his love," Miss Martinez begged Jeb.

"Miss Martinez, you certainly are my favorite employee, but please do not provide me with reasons to fire you," Jeb said indifferently.

"Oh, we both know you wouldn't fire me sir. You'll probably just punish me because I'm a bad, bad girl," she replied with a wink.

Okay, that was really awkward.

"Is that so, Miss Martinez? Looks like we'll have to fix that. We can't have bad employees here because only the best are employed."

"I look forward to my corrective behavioral classes... again, Mr. Batchelder."

Throughout their entire conversation about... You know what, I don't think people their age should even be having sex. I mean, Mr. Batchelder was like 107 and Miss Martinez was probably some 78 year old with crinkles and saggy skin. During their "activities" she would be like, "Oh, sorry dear. My hearing aid popped out" or "Dear, I'm wearing my glasses but I still can't see your..." Yeah, I'll stop now.

Anyways, throughout their entire conversation, I remained tied down to the bed with a stabbing pain in my back. I felt the chains around my wrists and ankles dig into my skin, but I continued to struggle.

Then a soft hand came down upon my shoulder, and I immediately tensed. "Don't struggle, 584. Or would you prefer to be called Fang? We'll get you out here soon. We just need to get some quick tests done to see how your body is reacting to the mutation."

Sweat poured down my forehead but I managed to force a word through my cracked lips, "Max."

The woman with the soft hand, Miss Martinez, laughed. She sounded nice, but "nice" didn't cut it for me. Just because she sounds nice, doesn't mean she is. Trusting people isn't natural for me and especially in a place like this.

"See, I told you he was just worried about his love. Maybe we should bring her in next to get some tests done and then fitted. I still think she should have gone first. She is the strongest emotionally and a natural born leader. She would have been able to help everyone else through the process after she had been fitted."

"Yes, I know. She was born to be the leader; however, due to the unfortunate circumstances, the process had to be completed on Subject 584 before we could get to Max. Max would never allow us to help her if her friend die," Mr. Batchelder replied. "Subject 584, how are you feeling?"

"Since when have you had a heart, Jeb. I doubt you care about his health. You just want to get on with the testing to see how well your experiment turned out."

"You know me too well, Valencia. Guards!"

Two guards came rushing into the white room (the room of white? Whatever this thing was called) and saluted.

"Carry Subject 584 into the holding room and bring the next one in here. We need to finish the experiments and get on with the testing."

I was still strapped down onto the table. Now, if I was in a better mood or health, I might have made a comment about Jeb's kinkiness. Tying men down in order to have his wicked way with them. I'm flattered. In fact, I always knew he was gay. But... Sadly, I wasn't, so the opportunity to annoy Jeb was wasted.

I felt the two guards unlock the chains around my muscles and immediately lurched off the table and stumbled a few feet away. _Maybe I can escape, _I thought while making eye contact with Jeb. Jeb just stood there with a wicked grin on his face before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a remote with a big red button. He pressed it.

"AHHHH!" I screamed despite the soreness of my vocal chords and chappedness of my lips. Was that even a word? I couldn't possibly care right now because there was a huge amount of energy running through my body and ripping me apart. The pain was overwhelming and seemed to last generations. By the time it was over, I was on the floor. I couldn't remember during which part of the torture I had fallen. I couldn't feel a single part of my body.

_That's right. I still had my collar on. _I groaned. Now what?

"Fang, Fang, Fang. What am I going to do with you? You're an assassin. You know the protocol when you get kidnapped by enemies. Do not try to escape as soon as they let you go and never make a noise. What kind of assassin would break not one, but two protocol rules in less than a minute?"

First, Jeb doesn't know the first thing about being an assassin. Assassins don't have "protocols". At least, I never did. I had an order: kill. And I followed through; it was as simple as that. And second, it's starting to smell like wet dog in here.

I ignored him and struggled to my feet. "Where's Max," I choked out, groaning with the effort.

"Maybe we should let him see her. I mean, look at him. He can't do much right now and it might help," the lady with Jeb insisted while pointing at me. I was starting to like her more and more, but anyone associating with Jeb wasn't normal. She may act nice, but this probably was a front to get on our good side and get us to trust her. I wasn't going to fall for that.

Jeb looked at Ms. Martinez and stared at her. She stared right back with the same amount of intensity, only conceding when Jeb released a frustrated sigh.

"Guards!" He called. Immediately, a guard came rushing over to his aid. "Bring the eldest girl, but be careful with her. We need her alive and healthy before her testing." The guard nodded before running off towards the back of the white room.

The guard's trip to the door probably took him 5 minutes and that too at running pace. The guard hesitated at the door which probably meant in order for the door to open a key or password was required. Maybe both? The door slid open, and I noticed the contrast. The room hidden behind the door was black. Pitch black. Just the way I liked it. Apparently, my subconscious registered that I liked it and set a small grin on my face without me knowing it was there.

The guard returned minutes later with a struggling blonde trailing along behind him. Her hair was tangled and dirty, but I instantly recognized Max. By now, I had pulled my self semi-upright and was using the bed I just woke up from as a sort of support to keep me standing.

The guard dragged Max half the distance with Max constantly struggling before she finally gave up and let the guard take her the rest of the way peacefully. She stared at the floor the entire trek and I just looked at her as she walked. She looked up, and somehow, we made eye contact across the room.

I'm going to be extremely sappy and totally unlike me, but I don't care. I might as well. I mean, I'll be spending my last days in a prison cell for goodness's sake. You know how people say when you make eye contact with the one you love everything else just kind of vanishes. Bullshit. Well, not really. As soon as I made eye contact with Max everything else did drift away.

All there was in the world was Max and me and that stupid pain in my back.

_Way to ruin a perfectly romantic statement, _I thought.

The thing is: I couldn't love Max. I just met her a month ago. Well, actually, I met her the day I came here and I have no clue when that was. But it was still to quick to say I loved her. I know I liked her. A lot. But she wasn't even my girlfriend. I'm being totally un-Fang-like, aren't I?

So. Max and I made eye contact from across the room and everything snapped into place. Except for my back because that was seriously broken or something. In that moment, Max broke away from her guard and ran the remaining distance to me, charging into me and tackling me right back down onto the ground.

I groaned as pain radiated from my back colliding with the floor. She sat up quickly, each of her legs on either side of me, straddling me. If I was feeling any better, I would have taken total advantage of this. Total advantage provided Max didn't kill me for even suggesting it.

Max gasped, "Are you okay? Did they hurt you? What's wrong? What did they do to you? Can you talk? Of course you can't, you never do. Can you move? If you can hear me, wave your hand?"

I smiled my tiny little smile reserved for Max and shook my head. "I'm fine. Mostly. Back hurts, but that's it."

She smiled back, leaned over, and gave me a quick peck on the lips. "Good, I'm glad you're okay you big macho lump of man."

Macho lump of man? "I'm buff," I admitted cockily giving her and tiny chuckle which for anyone would be the equivalent of rolling on the floor laughing. Did I just unabbreviate ROTFL? What?

She rolled off me and stood up all with a single fluid movement. Only fighters can move that easily.

"How touching. Now that the reunions out of the way, we can continue with the rest of the process," Jeb insisted with a smirk.

"What process are you talking about, Jeb?" Max asked, hips cocked and hands on her hips. Sexy.

"The mutation process of course. You agreed to it when you begged us to save Fang. 'Oh, I love him. Please save him Jeb. I'll do anything!'" He mocked in a high pitched falsetto.

"I'm surprised that's not your real voice because I seriously don't talk like that," Max argued back.

"Yes, you do."

"And what mutation are you talking about? You said you'll be testing him and experimenting on him. You said his blood type will be altered during the transfusion and that's the only reason you needed me to do it as well."

"I lied, Max. That's part of the reason. As you know, the other six will also be tested to see if they are worthy."

"Jeb. You're a freaking crazy lunatic with pet bunnies as sexual outputs. I can't believe you would do this to children. I understand why you had to do it to Fang. You had to save his life. And why you have to do it for me, but for the others? Just because you don't have a family or friends doesn't mean you have to destroy others. I mean you already destroyed my original family and now that I have found a replacement amongst these children and inmates here, you have to hurt then too? You're a sick and twisted bastard."

"Max, that's enough," Ms. Martinez interrupted sternly. Until now, she stood to the side, simply listening and not taking action.

"Who are you?" Max questioned.

"I'm your superior and you will listen. Max, we're not doing this to harm the little kids. We're doing this to save the world. If we don't do this, do you understand the consequences?"

"Absolutely not because I don't know what's going to happen if you hurt them."

"We don't have time for this! Guards, take Subject 584 back to the holding cells and bring Maximum to the operating tables. It's time to have some fun," Jeb yelled forcefully with a malicious little smile on his face.

Oh goody, goody gumdrops.

* * *

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	18. The Cages

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride.**

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

**The Cages.**

* * *

><p><em>Max P.O.V~<em>

Angel started crying once the guards left and the five of us were alone with the creatures. I couldn't see her and find her in order to comfort her, but I could tell her voice was coming from somewhere across the room. Maybe across the aisle.

"Shhhh. Angel, it's okay. We're going to be fine," I assured her. I made soothing comments like a mom would do for a newborn child, but it didn't seem to help. Of course it wouldn't. I was sitting in a dog crate while Angel was across the pathway and I was making little baby cooing noises. All it was doing was making me seem like an idiot.

"Don't worry, Angel. Max will get us out of here because she's super kickass and badbutt. She's also badass and kickbutt. Both work," Nudge said. I rolled my eyes at her, but she couldn't see me.

"Nudge, don't make me sound like a hero because I'm not. I can do karate and judo and tae kwon do, but this is different. This is not my territory," I responded.

"Max, listen to me. We're in prison. Sooner or later, you're going to have to make it your territory. You're going to have to toughen up. We can't do this without you, and if you don't beef up your brain, we're all screwed because you're not going anywhere with that mind set," Iggy said forcefully.

And he made sense. For once in the short (or long, I really don't know anymore) amount I've known him, he's actually said something useful and something that made sense. Without thinking, I applauded.

"Bravo! What a beautiful speech. Encore! Encore!" I yelled while madly clapping my hands. Iggy looked surprised for a minute but he shook it off quickly. He took a few bows and thanked his audience for being so wonderful before signing off with a "Goodnight Boston".

"No, but seriously, Max. You need to toughen up. We've been living most of our lives on the streets and we're used to this condition, but we need you to lead us. I've never worked with a team before and I don't think I know what to do. You've been living with a family, and you know how family works, Max. Do you think you can make us a family?" Nudge asked before continuing, "You and Fang can be the mother and father. Iggy and I can be the teenagers. He's the punk rock, get drunk, sex everyday, troublemaking, problematic child, and I'll be perfect little angel child. Oh, no I can't because Angel has that reserved. And Gazzy and Angel can be the toddlers, like the little babies of the family even though they are not that small."

I grinned a little at Nudge's rant. I let her continue without stopping her about how she would make us a family. Apparently, we would get a pet dog and live in a mansion with an indoor pool, a waterslide, and a walk-in closet that looked more like a giant Costco for clothes.

"Nudge, I don't think we'll be able to get all that stuff, but if you want a family, I'll try my best. You guys are right. You all are used to this side of life, but I'm not and if I have any chance of surviving, just a small dash of sarcasm ain't gonna cut it."

"That's the spirit, Max!" Gazzy said before pausing. "Now what do we do?"

Right. We're locked into dog crates, can't see each other, and there are random animal like creatures surrounding us just waiting to eat us alive. What _do _we do?

"Right now, the only thing we can do. We wait for Fang to come back before we find out a way to bust ourselves our of this place," I said, pumping my fist into the air. In response, Iggy, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy pumped thier fists into the air along with mine. I couldn't see their fists in the air, but I did hear the whoosh of wind as their fists smashed upwards. I smiled to myself. Maybe making a family out of these streetrats wasn't such a terrible idea after all, and I mean streetrats in the most loving way possible.

And so we waited. I don't know how long we waited, but we did. And I really want to make a reference here about how I am the girl who waited, but I won't.

Finally, the doors to our large, Costco-like room opened, flooding the area with light and revealing the shadowy silhouettes of two guards. The guards made their way slowly yet purposely into the caged area. They followed the row of cages all the way down to wear I along with the rest of the group was waiting and stopped in front of my cage.

One of the guards stared directly at me, leering, while the other carefully unlocked the lock preventing me from escaping my barred cage.

"Maximum Ride, you're coming with us," the man leering at me said. The unlocker grabbed my arm and pulled me out of my cage before closing the door behind me.

"Stay strong, Max. Don't let them get to you!" Angel called from behind me.

I felt a rough hand at the small of my back pushing me forward. I shrinked away from the contact and strode forward confidently. I quickly turned around and released an ugly sneer in the direction of the guards. He growled from where he stood before charging at me. Surprised, I had no time to move away before he grabbed me by my waist and dragged me away from Angel, Iggy, Nudge, and Gazzy. He pulled me through the rows of cages stacked upon each other. The eyes in each one followed me on my way out; I could feel them boring holes into my back.

However, just before the guard pulled me into the light room and away from the dark corridor, my eyes locked with another pair. I stared at them and found emotion within them. A human emotion like pity swirled around before the eyes peeled away and vanished into the blackness.

The guard continued dragging me while I struggled against his hold. I may be a girl, but I was in no way weak so when the guard refused to let me go despite my struggling and instead gripped me tighter, not looking the slightest bit perturbed, I was surprised. What did they feed these guys? A daily meal of steroids and muscle milk because unless they worked out 24/7, there was no way to become that strong.

Eventually, realizing it was futile, I stopped struggling and chose to stare at the ground instead. My feet dragged limply behind me as the guard strode forward. His grip on me relaxed when he realized I'd stopped struggling, but I didn't try to escape. There was really no point. If I tried, he would just grab me tighter. He continued walking and I continued staring until I felt something. A nagging feeling telling me to look up, and so I did.

There he was across the room, staring into my eyes. Fang. The world melted away and I knew I had to get to him. Mustering up enough energy and strength, I yanked my body away from the guard. Unaware of the sudden movement, the guard's hands slipped leaving me free. I sprinted the distance to Fang, a smile rising on my face.

At the last minute, I threw myself at Fang and knocked him to the ground. A loud groan of pain left his mouth the moment his back collided with the floor.

Concerned, I got off him and straddled his waist knowing he would take this the wrong way but wanting to hear his stupid voice make some inappropriate comment, but instead he just had a look of pain on his face.

I gasped, "Are you okay? Did they hurt you? What's wrong? What did they do to you? Can you talk? Of course you can't, you never do. Can you move? If you can hear me, wave your hand?"

Fang gave me his tiny smile that he reserved just for me, but he didn't wave his hand. I suppose the smile would just have to do. In fact, just knowing he only showed me his smile sent little shivers of happiness down my spine. What a stupid cheesy moment.

"I'm fine," he said. "Mostly. Back hurts, but that's it."

Even in pain right out of a life or death situation where chances were most probably death, he managed to limit the amount of words he said. I smiled back at him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, convinced he was alright. "Good, I'm glad you're okay you big macho lump of man," I snickered. I have no idea where that came from but it seemed to befit Fang.

Fang seemed to think so too because replied, arrogantly and full of himself I might add, "I'm buff." And then, get this, he chuckled. I rolled off him in shock. Fang never chuckled before. He managed to smile, but chuckling and cracking a sort of joke were not his thing. I smiled.

I was about to turn on him and jokingly demand for him to tell me who he really was and what this alien had done to the real Fang when Jeb interrupted, "How touching. Now that the reunions are out of the way, we can continue with the rest of the process."

"What process are you talking about, Jeb?" I asked. I cocked my hips and placed my hands on them to give my appearance a more badass and serious look. I could practically hear Fang drooling behind me.

"The mutation process of course. You agreed to it when you begged us to save Fang. 'Oh, I love him. Please save him Jeb. I'll do anything!'" He mocked in a high pitched falsetto. Was that supposed to be my voice? Was Jeb mocking me?

"I'm surprised that's not your real voice because I seriously don't talk like that," I argued back. Not my best comeback but it would have to do for now.

"Yes, you do," Jeb retorted. Okay, that was an even worse comeback. Thankfully, I was verbally sparring with an opponent who had soup for brains so my current lack of sarcasm in my repertoire would not bring my levels of amazing down any, and why couldn't I talk like this in real life and not in my head?

However, confused by his answer, I dropped any attempts at a witty response and insult about how his comebacks sucked and instead asked, "And what mutation are you talking about? You said you'll be testing him and experimenting on him. You said his blood type will be altered during the transfusion and that's the only reason you needed me to do it as well."

"I lied, Max. That's part of the reason. As you know, the other six will also be tested to see if they are worthy."

Wait, that wasn't part of the plan. The agreement was only Fang and I would be subjected to surgery. I thought of Angel and Gazzy and Nudge and Iggy and how just minutes ago we had agreed to become a family. What confused me was why Jeb would want to change the blood types of four innocents.

I got angry. "Jeb. You're a freaking crazy lunatic with pet bunnies as sexual outputs. I can't believe you would do this to children. I understand why you had to do it to Fang. You had to save his life. And why you have to do it for me, but for the others? Just because you don't have a family or friends doesn't mean you have to destroy others. I mean you already destroyed my original family and now that I have found a replacement amongst these children and inmates here, you have to hurt then too? You're a sick and twisted bastard," I vented. I crossed my arms across my chest while my breath came out in pants.

I was not suited for Nudge-work.

"Max, that's enough," a lady behind Jeb interrupted. I hadn't noticed her before. What was she doing here?

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm your superior and you will listen," she said. Oh, superior. Like I haven't heard that before. Actually, no wait. I hadn't. The way she said she was superior to me made her sound like a total bitch. "Max, we're not doing this to harm the little kids. We're doing this to save the world. If we don't do this, do you understand the consequences?"

What consequences? The only thing that would happen if Angel and the rest weren't operated on or mutated as they so called it was nothing. "Absolutely not because I don't know what's going to happen if you hurt them."

Jeb gasped and threw his hands in the air. Exasperatedly, he said, "We don't have time for this! Guards, take Subject 584 back to the holding cells and bring Maximum to the operating tables. It's time to have some fun." And on his face was a malicious grin.

Shit.

Now what.

I don't want to die.

Not here.

Wait, who's Subject 584?

The guard who brought me from the dog cage out into the white room, grabbed Fang from his arms and lifted him up. Fang let out a grunt of pain; sweat was dripping down the side of his forehead from all his effort and the pain.

Oh, Fang.

"Hey! Be careful!" I yelled at the guard. I rushed over and helped prop Fang up by supporting his weight. I grabbed his arm and gingerly draped it over my shoulders. He groaned in effort. I placed the arm not holding his in place around my shoulders around his waist. I could feel the heat radiating off of him as sweat from his forehead dripped down his cheek. Something about a sweaty Fang was really, really hot.

"Max, let go of him," the lady beside Jeb insisted. "We need you here to work on your operation."

I didn't let go of Fang. The guard held up Fang's other side looking between Jeb and I waiting for orders on how to proceed.

"I have a question. Wouldn't Fang have to be here if I get a blood transfusion so that we can inject my blood into him right after. What's the point of sending him back. It's just a simple blood transfusion for me not a bullet removal," I asked.

"Maximum. Remember when I told you I lied? Well, I did. We don't need blood from you to replenish Subject 584. We already did that. We just need to do to you what we did to the subject, and quite frankly, I don't think Subject 584 would want to be here to see it," Jeb said calmly after folding his arms across his chest and adopting a superior and confident look on his face.

I got angry. I got really, really angry. You know how people say when they get angry they can feel their blood boiling. Well it's true, my body felt on fire as the heated blood rushed through me. I was just about to drop Fang and wipe that smug face off Jeb's dirty white face, but I pulled myself together willing my body to calm down and to make sure Fang was alright.

"What. Did. You. Do. To. Him?" I enunciated each word, spitting them out through clenched teeth and pausing in between each one to add a more dramatic effect and to try and calm myself down.

Jeb ignored me and flicked his head to the side while looking at the guard. The guard yanked Fang away from me and slung him across his shoulder. Fang let out a pained cry, but he didn't struggle. He just flopped around as the guard carried him back to the door. I watched their retreating figures until the guard and Fang disappeared into the room of cages. Just before they vanished from view though, I noticed the way Fang was perched on the guard's shoulders made his butt look extremely cute. Not the best time, but I'm a teenage girl and we can appreciate these things.

Shaking my head, I tried to clear my thoughts of Fang away and focus my attention on Jeb. I demanded again, "What did you do to Fang, Jeb?"

"Oh, you know. I'm pretty sure you have figured things out by now Maximum. You're a smart girl and you've seen the things in the cages. What do you think I did to him?" Jeb smirked. Behind him, the lady just stood with a sad expression on her face.

I brushed my unruly, messy and dirty hair out of my face as the gears in my brain turned. The creatures in the cage were animals... monsters. Weren't they? But when I left, they had feelings. Human feelings. Pity. Despair. I saw it in their eyes. So how could monsters have human feelings unless... they were human.

I gasped at the revelation. They were turning Fang into a monster. That's what the mutation thing Jeb mentioned was.

From Jeb's face, I knew he knew that I figured it out. "What did you do to him?" I whispered, sinking to my knees.

"Don't worry, Max. Your boyfriend and you are the perfect subjects for our experiments. You won't end up like those weaklings who couldn't keep control of their mutations. You and your little flock are the perfect specimens. Why do you think we chose you?"

I looked up at him in confusion and whispered, "Flock?"

"Oh yes, did I forget to mention. I gave added avian DNA into Subject 584's blood. He now has wings."

I gasped again. His back. Fang had wings.

"And we'll be doing the same to you and the others," Jeb stated still smirking. He looked happy.

I was getting wings.

Shit.

* * *

><p><strong>One thing before signing off. I want to make clear, I said the words "Jeb's dirty white face" but I don't in anyway intend for this to racist or taken in a racist way. It's more of a description of his face not of the people. Does that make sense?<strong>

**Last chapter: Hurricane by Panic! At the Disco. **

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**_I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart._**

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	19. The Procedure

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride.**

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

**The Procedure.**

* * *

><p><em>Max P.O.V~<em>

Having wings sounded fun, but with Jeb as the mastermind behind the operation of growing feathery appendages, who knows what could happen. I didn't trust Jeb to operate on me. I didn't trust Jeb, period. Because Jeb is always on his period. I swear, that man has the strangest mood swings.

"No, I'm not getting wings. I won't let you operate on me! You can't force me!" I yelled in a desperate attempt to convince Jeb otherwise. I already knew nothing could change his mind, but I was stalling until I could find my way out of this situation. Quickly, my eyes darted around the room looking for a place to run, somewhere to hide, or a weapon to use, but Jeb noticed.

"Running won't get you anywhere, Max. No matter where you go, I own this prison and I will find you. In fact, just to make this more interesting, I'll give you a head start. I'll let you run around and try your best to hide from me. In a week, if I can't find you, I'll let you go. How about that?"

"I'm not leaving without my family," I said slowly.

"What family? Your adopted one? It doesn't really matter. You're not going to be leaving," Jeb sneered.

"What about that headstart? I could always try to free them from the dark room with cages in the back," I mentioned jerking my head towards the locked door.

"Yeah, it wouldn't work," Jeb said with certainty, dragging out the 'r' to make himself sound a little more all-knowing. "Your head start is only about ten seconds, and by the time you get past me, your head start will be over. By the time you get anywhere near that door, I would have pressed the button and the room will be swarming with guards."

He paused for a second before continuing, "But say you did manage to get to that door which prevents you from reaching your friends. You don't know the password to get in. You wouldn't get anywhere, Maximum, so don't even think about trying to escape."

I stood still not knowing what else to do in my situation. "What about that lady behind you, huh, Jeb? Who's she? Your girlfriend?"

He turned to face the lady as she took a step forward. "I'm surprised you haven't asked about her already. Your curious nature, I thought, was fading. It's a good thing too, but I'll humor you. This lady's name is Valencia Martinez. She's a scientist here who specializes in genetic mutations, and no, she's not my girlfriend. However, if I had someone as pretty as her as my companion, we wouldn't be leaving the bedroom if you know what I mean," he added with a wink.

Ew. Ew. Ew. EW. That's disgusting. I shook my head and cleared it of the unwanted images that popped up of Jeb and a lady friend.

"Just relax, Max. We'll sedate you when we perform the operation. You won't feel a thing. Afterwards you'll have a killer back pain, but during the process, you won't even know if a truck hit you or not," Valencia Martinez spoke up from behind Jeb.

She spoke with a kind and motherly tone of voice, as if she herself had children and understood their emotions. Either that or she was a child in the disguise of an adult but that hardly seemed logical let alone possible.

I decided to act on my hunch and asked her, "Valencia, do you have children?"

For a moment, she was shocked, her eyes betraying the surprise she felt before she shook it off. "Yes, I have a daughter. She's just a year younger than you, almost your age. If you ever get out of here, I might introduce you two. But how did you know I had a daughter?"

I shrugged, "When you talk, you have emotion in your voice. Emotions like care and love and sympathy. Either you're just a psycho killer who knows how to connect with teenage girls to make them feel safer or more normal or you have a child and you're used to talking to children like that. I chose the more optimistic option, but don't think I haven't ruled out the psycho killer one. You could be holding a bazooka behind your back."

She laughed. Valencia Martinez laughed at something I said. If she was as kind as she looked, then why did she work here?

"Oh, Max. You certainly are a character. Tough and somewhat untrusting. Jeb's right. You are the perfect candidate for our experiment. I hate to do this, Max, but this is the only way we can save the world. This is the only way we can save you," she insisted.

"What do you mean 'this is the only way you can save me'. You can set me free along with my family. That would save me," I said optimistically. Maybe she'd feel sorry and let us go.

"I'm sorry, Max. We really can't. You'll understand soon enough when Jeb decides it's time to tell you what our project is about."

"And why does Jeb have to decide. Why can't you help me?"

"Jeb's my boss. Everyone in here has to report to him, listen to him, and get clearance from him before they can do anything. Jeb not only owns the place, he owns everything in the place like the workers, the equipments, and the subjects."

"He owns us?"

Valencia shook her head sadly. "Yes, he does."

"How is that even possible? I know we're dead to the outside world. He already told us that, but how does that make him own us."

"That's enough, Valencia. We can't tell her too much. Right now, Max doesn't need power," Jeb interrupted. Until now, Jeb had been standing to the side listening intently to our conversation. I guess he decided he'd had enough small talk. "She needs her destiny, and we're going to give them to her."

"You're going to give me my destiny? Is that even possible," I laughed.

"The wings are your destiny, Maximum."

"The wings are your destiny, Maximum," I mimicked in a deep voice.

"Maximum, shut up and sit down."

"What makes you think I'll listen to you?" I crossed my arms across my chest with a smug look on my face.

Jeb returned the look and said, "This." With that he snapped his fingers and five guards came rushing into the white room. Ari was leading the pack with a happy yet murderous look on his face.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of being called upon," Ari asked while smirking at me. He totally thought he was going to get a change to 'discipline' me, didn't he? Well, tough cheesenuts.

"Ari, cut the crap. Smart talk is too advanced for your feeble brain. And the 1800's called, they want their lingo back. If you're trying to find a more suitable dialogue, try caveman. It may be a little complicated, but you can get the hang of it. I believe in you, Ari!" I pumped my fist in the air to emphasize how much I believed in Ari before returning my own smirk at him.

He threw a menacing glare my way, but I smiled politely back at him. For an extra irritating effect, I grabbed the side of my jumpsuit and mimicked a curtsy before executing a perfect model wave to the crowd.

"Max, stop being a diva and pay attention," I heard Jeb say in the background. "And Ari, all you're here to do is ensure that Maximum doesn't run away. She's proving to be a little difficult..."

I interrupted him at that moment, "You know that's right!"

Jeb stared at me and basically told me to shut up with his eyes before continuing, "As I was saying, she's a little difficult..."

I preformed a z-snap here with an, "Hmmhm." I'm about to go into surgery with some psycho lunatic who wants to turn a 17 year old teenager into a bird; I can't just _not _have fun with myself before then.

"Maximum, I will personally ducktape your mouth shut if you do not cooperate," Jeb growled, pointing a finger at me before turning back to Ari, "She's difficult. All you're here to do is make sure she doesn't escape. No violence at all. If you hurt her, I hurt you. We need our subject in perfect shape for the procedure. However, you're my most loyal guard and I will reward you. You can have your time with her in the ring occasionally. Right now, obey!"

"Yes, sir," Ari grumbled. "I'm going to get you soon Max, and when I do, I'm going to have some fun."

"I never realized getting your ass kicked and handed to you was fun," I said thoughtfully. "Well, I guess we all have our own definitions of the word fun. Don't worry Ari boy, I'll go easy on you. How about instead of me handing you your ass on a silver platter, why don't I hand it to you on a gold one. I think the gold will really bring out the paleness, don't you?"

"Oi, Max! How would you know how pale my ass is or not, hmm? You been sneaking into places you shouldn't be. If you wanted a free show that badly, you could have just asked. I would have gladly accommodated you," Ari smirked.

"That's enough you two! This is why I didn't have two kids. One is troublesome enough," Valencia laughed. "Too be honest though, this is quite entertaining. Ari, I think you walked yourself right into that one, but that sexual one was unnecessary. Crude, rude, and completely disgusting."

"Sorry, ma'am." Ari looked at his feet. I was about to open my mouth to make some witty remark about Ari being bossed around by a girl, but one stern look form Valencia and I shut it just as quick.

"Now, Max. We really need to get this done and over with so please cooperate with us and the process will go by smoothly without any complications," Valencia added.

"Yeah, yeah. It doesn't look like I'm going to be getting out of here any time soon either," I mentioned, flicking my head towards the four guards that had followed Ari through the door and Ari, the big, fluffy, Ari himself.

I walked over towards the operating table that Fang had lied down on just minutes before and carefully pulled myself up. I stretched myself out over the length of the table and closed my eyes. Being awake during the procedure wouldn't help, and I had a feeling these monsters wouldn't give me an anesthetic to ease the pain. Seconds later, I was drifting off to sleep.

-.-.-.-

When I woke up, the lights blinded me and all I could feel was the pain in my back. I groaned and stretched myself out being extra careful not to shift my back too much. Every movement of my arms and even legs pulled on muscles in my back which sent shooting pain throughout my body. Unable to even lift my head without experiencing the pain, I decided not to move at all.

My mind reflected back to when I saw Fang on the ground attempting to stand up. How did he deal with this? That boy really was a big macho lump of man.

Once the blinding lights had finally cleared, the first thing I saw was Jeb's bushy eyebrows in my face, and unable to push him away from myself I just groaned. "Jeb, move."

"Look who's awake. Well, this procedure went by smoothly and tomorrow we'll be testing out your wings. It's time for the others to be brought in here and operated on," he said. The five guards he called in to "manage me" were seated on the floor around the operating table. At Jeb's command, they all stood up. One of them, cookies to whomever guesses who, walked over to me and quickly, with absolutely no gentleness, slung me over their shoulder. I cried out in pain.

"Ari, you fucking retard. Be careful with me. I'm fragile," I insisted. I don't know if it was drugs or pain, but I instantly felt dizzy. My vision swirled with colors before everything became black.

"Don't worry, Max. I'll take extra special care of you" and Ari's menacing, yet stupid laugh were the last words I heard before I blacked out.

-.-.-.-

I must not have been blacked out for too long because when I came too, Ari was just entering the room of cages. With no strength, I just flopped around on Ari's shoulders unable to look around let alone struggle out of Ari's grip.

He walked me to my cage towards the back of the room before pulling me off his shoulder and throwing me into the already open cage. I screamed in agony while Ari laughed.

"Don't ever mess with me, Max," he said before locking my caged door behind him and walking away. I slowly crawled to my feet while tears poured out of the corner of my eyes. I shifted in the dirt on the bottom of the cage feeling worse than a monkey in a zoo cage that hadn't been cleaned out in years. I suppose that's what I am. A lab monkey living in a crate that smells and looks like it hasn't been cleaned in years.

"Max? Max, is that you?" Angel asked.

"Omg! Max? Is that really you. You're back! What did they do to you? I tried asking Fang but being the closed up brick wall that he is refused to tell me anything. All he said was the word 'stop'. Does that make any sense at all? Like, stop what?" Nudge rambled on and on, but I tuned her out and returned to Angel.

"Yeah," I rasped. "It's me. Is Fang here?" Nudge was still talking. I wondered why Iggy hadn't shut her up yet.

"I'm over here, Max."

"Fang does your back still hurt," I asked.

He replied, "Like the devil."

"I know why. I was out there," I cried. "They told me. Jeb told me we were experiments. He's messing with us! He using us to perform his own genetic experiments. He's mutating us into creatures. The same creatures we saw in the cages, we're going to become one of them. He told me that he mixed us with bird DNA, and now we're 2% Avian American. We're part bird, Fang. We're growing wings. They operated on me, and I have them too."

I heard Angel gasp from somewhere beside me. After completing my little rant I broke down in sobs. I just felt so helpless and broken. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want Angel to have to go through this same pain as me. I didn't want my little babies to be hurt. I wanted us to be together, painless and happy. But here I was breaking down like a 2 year old baby who had their candy stolen from them.

Ignoring the pain in my back, I wiped away my tears with the back of my hands and turned to the others while trying my best to speak in an authoritative voice, "Okay, we need to get out of here before any of you have to go through the same thing Fang and I did. What ideas do you have?"

"We could always blow ourselves out of here. There are plenty of chemicals in the labs which we can use to build ourselves a bomb," Gazzy suggested.

"Risky, but good idea Gaz. Iggy, which chemicals would we need to get us out of here. We need to build a bomb that is small enough so it won't destroy this entire place but is big enough to knock down a wall?"

There was no response.

"Iggy, are you there? Are you just ignoring me because I told you I didn't love you. Aw, come on Iggy. I was just joking I do love you, but I love you as a younger brother and nothing else. Iggy?"

"Max, Iggy's gone. The guards took him hours before Ari brought you back. He's going to get wings too, Max. Are we going to get them too. I'm scared, Max," Angel whimpered.

"No, I won't let them hurt you, Angel. They'll have to go through Fang and I before they can hurt you."

"Actually, Angel's closer to the door then all of you are, so I'd get to her first if I wanted to take her away. And really, there's not much the great Maximum Ride and emo boy and do to protect the little baby seeing as you two are behind bars with absolutely no way of getting out.

"Ari, you little bastard. Get out of here, and leave us alone!" I screamed.

"Sure thing, Maximum. I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to. I just came to deposit this piece of trash and grab a new one," he smirked. With the little bit of light reaching us through the open door, I could make out a lump on Ari's shoulder. _Iggy!_

I noticed that it had only been 5 minutes or so since I entered that Iggy completed his operation. The procedure couldn't be that fast, could it?

Ari unlocked a cell by Fang, I think, and threw Iggy inside. "Here's your clown though I'm not sure he'll want to be clowning around anymore. That one put up quite a fight and we had to knock him out before we could fix him up and improve him. He'll be in more pain then both of you trashbags," Ari sneered.

"Improve him! Is that what you're calling it! Getting wings and suffering through the pain in an improvement! An improvement would be a five star hotel! Hell, an improvement would even be a shack in the Himalayas compared to this hellhole. I'd much rather live in the Himalayas. I wouldn't have to stare at your face ever again. And the snow would at least cover my -ahem- excretions. Is there even a toilet in this place? We're not animals who can just lift their legs and do it wherever they want to, you know?"

Ari laughed. "Keep telling your self that, you mutts. You're no better then animals to me, and you're to be treated like one. Now, I'll just be taking this little Barbie over here and leaving."

He walked over to Angel's cage and unlocked it. Angel cowered in the back of the cage trying her best to avoid Ari, but Ari just reached in and pulled her out of there by her neck as if she was some chicken ready to be slaughtered.

"No, don't hurt her! Ari! Come back here you barfball! You asshat! You, you, Meathead! Mama's Boy! Idiot! Retard! Jeb's boyfriend!" I screamed.

He stopped walking and turned around. He was still carrying Angel, but he had shifted to carry her like a father carries his child. "What did you say?"

"I said you were Jeb's boyfriend!"

"Watch it, Maximum. Or I might just accidentally mess up Angel's procedure resulting in her death." Angel visibly swallowed and her eyes were full of fear. Not wanting to take any extra risks, I dropped it and just looked down at the floor.

"That's right, Maximum. I already taught you one lesson today, I don't think you need another." My mind was swirling in confusion. What lesson had Ari taught me and why couldn't I remember? Then it hit me. Angel said Iggy was taken hours before I came back but when I awoke, Iggy wasn't in the operating room. I would have been able to seen his bright hair. It would explain why Iggy's procedure seemed to only take 5 seconds.

But? What did Ari do to me?

* * *

><p><strong>I would like tell Talia, the adorable little girl that died of cancer, to rest in peace. She was just a couple years younger than me and it's sad what goes on in this world sometimes. I hope she has what she deserves in heaven and plenty more. <strong>

**Last chapter: My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em' Up) by Fall Out Boy**

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**_My missionaries in a foreign field_**

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	20. The Wings

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride.**

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

**The Wings. **

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><p>"Jeb, I took Maximum to the testing room as you instructed. The results were as expected. She passed the test, but something strange happened afterwards. She fainted, and when she woke up she couldn't remember. She forgot she had ever taken the test without the aid of any memory modifiers. Has that ever happened before?"<p>

"Not to my knowledge, no. What did you tell her when she woke up? Not the truth, I hope," Jeb asked.

"Nothing, she never asked to know. She simply followed me out quietly," he replied. A slow grin spread across his face before continuing, "However, I took it as a chance to mess with her. Just as we entered the storage facility for the subjects, she started to return to her normal self. So, I told her that I taught her a lesson. Now, she's going to spend her free time worrying and trying to find out what I supposedly did to her."

"Good job, Ari. I'm proud of you. You've done well today, son."

"Thank you, father."

Jeb turned to look at Ari with a thoughtful expression on his face. "You say she passed the test, but how did she do in terms of ranking? Did she just barely pass the test or was she one of the better performances?" Jeb asked his son.

"She passed with flying colors. One of the highest scores I've ever seen. In fact, before leaving, I looked into previous records to see if she had the highest score or not, and there's only one person who has ever done better than her."

Jeb nodded his head silently. "Yes, I remember. He was Subject 007, the best of the best."

"What was his name?" Ari asked, curious.

"Bond."

"You're kidding me, right? Bond? As in James Bond? And he was Subject 007?" Ari asked in shock.

"No, Dylan Bond. He chose his last name. He was the first experiment we made that turned out the way I wanted it to. He was one of the Perfects. Perfect speed, perfect strength, perfect mind, perfect looks, perfect. In fact, we had planned to shut down the lab after him. But something went wrong. He became aggressive, violent, and destructive. He responded to everything with anger."

"What happened to him, father?" Ari asked.

Jeb turned to Ari with a haunted expression on his face and for the first time, Ari heard him say the words (and mean them), "I don't know." Jeb continued, "One day, he escaped. Just up and left the facility. You see, being one of the only Perfects, we had given liberty to freely roam around the lab. And then people were being murdered. Not just normal homicide killings either. Rich and important people were being mutilated in ways almost inhumane. We all knew it was Dylan. Then, the killings just stopped. We have no idea where he is or what he's done. We made him perfect. We made him the Perfect, and now we can't find him let alone kill him."

"Why didn't you shut down the lab after him as you had planned? Why do you keep these experiments and mutants. What if one of them turned into the next Dylan. Wouldn't it be more beneficial to shut down The School and prevent it from happening again?"

"No, Ari. I keep these experiments so I can create another Perfect. One who can finally defeat Dylan. Once he's dead, I will stop. I will retire and live a good life, but I have learned I can't let any of these subjects escape because all of them do have the potential of becoming the next Dylan. All of them, except Max. You see, I altered the test after Dylan left and for Max to have passed, she had to have been human. Because she grew up knowing how love feels and having a family, she has a heart. She can tell the difference between right and wrong, and she will never become the violent monster Dylan is now. As long as she has her love, she will become a Perfect. There is a down side, however, but we'll get to that later. She's not yet the perfect Perfect, but she will be our savior.

"Why? Dylan hasn't attacked in so long. Maybe he's dead?"

"That's wishful thinking Ari, but highly unlikely. He's perfect remember. It's only been 2 years since Dylan escaped. No, he's not dead."

Ari looked down at Jeb curiously, "Father, how will Maximum save us. Her test results were lower than Dylan's and we don't even know where he is. With the way we've been treating her, I doubt she will want to do anything to help The School."

"Max will save us. It is important to keep her curious and wanting something. We need her to help us and she won't do so without a good reason or something in exchange," Jeb insisted.

"Why not just take Fang and make her do what we command so she is forced to listen."

"No, Max needs to defeat Dylan on her own. She eventually needs to know the secret of The School which is why she needs to remain alert and curious. Taking or harming her new family will only defeat the purpose. It will slowly break her, and we need her to be fully operational."

"Then why must I act as if I hate her? Why must we pretend she is nothing but filth to us when the rest of our lives depend on whether or not she decides to help us? Wouldn't the hardness and extremity of the punishments only break her?" Ari questioned.

"Listen Ari. By pretending to hate her, throwing insults at her, and punishing her, she will keep herself alert and unbroken. She will never let someone she hates see her sad. By hating you, she will have an outlet for her anger, something Dylan never had. Ari, keep doing what you're doing. I apologize if you ever get beaten up by her."

Ari let out a small chuckle. "I understand father, but I don't like hurting my older sister."

"I know Ari, I know."

"Father?"

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><p><em>Max P.O.V.<em>

How long have I been in this cage? Forget that! How long have I spent in this damn prison. How long has it been since I've seen my family? How long has it been since I played soccer? And how long has it been since I've had a toast?! I really miss eating toast.

"Max, what are they going to do to Angel? Will she be okay?" Gazzy asked timidly.

"She's a strong girl, Gaz. She'll be fine. I only wish she didn't have to go through this. I wish none of you had to go through this," I said slowly. I felt as if it were my fault we were all stuck in here. I felt as if I had let my new family down. It was my job to help and protect them, not let them be taken and experimented on.

I banged my fists against the bars of my cage in frustration.

"Max, it's not your fault," Fang said. I smiled a little despite the helplessness I felt. He always seemed to know what was on my mind. I think, even in this short period of time, even though I didn't really know much about him, even though we rarely talked (well, he rarely talked), even though we only shared a few kisses and never went on any dates, I was falling in love. Fang just knew how to make me feel better about myself, the world, everything.

"Yeah, Max. If anything, it's all Jeb's fault. He's the one you should be mad at, not yourself. He's the idiot bastard that stuck us here and wouldn't leave us alone. You know, I'm thinking Jeb's a pervert, keeping little kids in cages just so he can have fun with them. Except he's not one of those sexual perverts, unless he is. So far, he hasn't done anything inappropriate, but he's a pervert because he keeps little kids. Does that make any sense?"

"Nudge, I have no idea what you're talking about," I answered truthfully.

"Max, since we're all getting wings, what do you think the wings would look like? Like, will they be big with speckles or small. What about feathers? I really want soft feathers that I can touch all day long because rough feathers wouldn't be fun. Do you think they could make my wings pink or orange. I mean, if we're getting them, we might as well get the colors and kind of wings we want right. What if we get fairy wings that aren't made of feathers but has a ton of glitter. OMG, that would be amazing! We would all be fairies! Except for Fang because Fang doesn't have enough fairness to be a fairy. He's probably be the dark fairy of evil and then all us good fairies would have to fight him, but we wouldn't want to because Fang's our friend, so instead, we would talk to him and convert him to the good side, but since he hates all kinds of colors and stuff, he could still wear black but then he wouldn't be a fairy. Or would he because he would still have fairy wings?" Nudge rambled. All I heard was one giant run-on sentence about Fang and fairies.

I'll admit, a fairy Fang sounded pretty sexy.

"Fairy me is not sexy," Fang responded. Huh. Could he read my mind? That would explain how he always knows how to make me feel better.

I heard a small chuckle, "What can I say? It's a talent."

Huh? "Fang, stop doing that!"

"I can't help it," he smirked.

I was just talking out loud again wasn't I? Fang can't actually read my mind.

"Yup," three mouths said at once.

"Oh," I said a little sheepishly, and despite the seriousness of the entire situation we're in, I couldn't help but laugh. Soon Nudge and Gazzy were laughing along with me. Fang just shook his head and grinned a little which in our case was the equivalent of a laugh.

Then the door opened, and light came flooding in. I saw Fang, sitting criss cross applesauce with his head resting on the bars. He was covered in dirt, grime, and blood. He looked tired but he was alive. I saw Iggy, laying face down on the floor of his cage, hopefully not in something disgusting. Actually, _hopefully in something disgusting._ I would love to make fun of his for that. Gazzy and Nudge looked the shame. Being the only ones left, both were huddled in the corners of the cage furthest away from the door. They were covered in dirt and muck but no blood yet. Gazzy, however, had a tortured look on his face as he watched Ari bring Angel in.

Angel was hanging limply in his arms, her white clothing stained with blood. Her face was pale and tight; she looked dead.

"Ari... " I whispered softly not tearing my eyes of the limp body in his arms, "Is she?"

"She's alive, but I told you Maximum. I could have easily killed her," Ari said softly, almost gently. He lowered Angel into the cage and laid her carefully onto the ground.

I sighed in relief. "Thank you, Ari."

"Don't thank me yet. I still have to finish my job. Now, who's next. Should I take the brother or the chatterbox?" Ari closed the door behind Angel and locked it before turning towards the two remaining prisoners.

"Ari, don't even think about it. I could kick your ass all the way to next year!

"I'd like to see you try little girl, but it looks like you made your decision for me. Chatterbox it is," he grinned devilishly. Unlocking Nudge's door, he yanked her out and threw her over his shoulder, all while keeping a firm tight hold on her.

Nudge's fists crashed into Ari's back repeatedly while her legs thrashed in front of him. At one point, Ari shrank down crutching his lower area. Good girl, Nudge. She knew where to kick.

"Let me go! Let me go! I demand to be released!" Nudge screamed.

"Not any time soon princess, and especially not after that little stunt you just pulled," Ari wheezed. His words came out slowly as he continued to wobble forward clutching his stuff.

I couldn't help it.

Ari looked like a freaking penguin, waddling about like that.

I cracked up. "Ari, you look like a freaking penguin!" I yelled. I waddled slowly around my cage making quacking noises to instigate him, "Quack, quack."

"You, Maximum, obviously don't know your animals. That was a duck, and you try walking around with injured balls. Oh wait, you don't have any," Ari smirked.

"Was that supposed to be an insult. You just called me a girl, and here's a funny notion. I am one! And no, I do not have injured balls but Nudge's well aimed kick will seem like nothing once I get out of this cage, Ari. I'm going to crush them into powder and then feed them to piranhas," I retorted.

Nudge perked up at that moment, "Like in the song "Dumb Ways To Die"!"

"What are you talking about?" Ari growled. He had stopped walking right after I made the penguin or duck comment.

"Awww, is poor Ari feeling out of the loop?"

"Ari will forever be out of the loops because in fruit loops there are six colors, one for each of us. There will never be a seventh color therefore Ari will always be out of the loops! Get it?" Nudge laughed.

"Nudge, that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Ari's not a fruit loop!"

"Wait, guys! I just thought of the most amazing name for the six of us. The fruit loops! So, like whenever we do something cool, we can all be like 'Fruit Loops: Go!' and then all of us wil go do our whole kickass thing! And Iggy can be the red fruit loop because his face looks like a tomato when I make fun of him, I can be orange because there is no pink, Angel will be yellow because it's closest to white, Gazzy can be green because he reminds me of green, Max will be blue, and Fang will be purple," Nudge decided.

"Nudge, you do realize you are on Ari's shoulder and you're talking about fruit loops," Gazzy said laughing.

"But, fruit loops are amazing," she humphed.

"Why am I purple?" Fang asked all of a sudden.

"And why are we talking about fruit loops?" said a sleepy and muffled voice from the corner.

"Igster! Bro, you're awake!" Gazzy exclaimed.

"Yeah," Iggy groaned. "I almost wish I stayed asleep; my back is killing me. All I remember is that Ari bastard dragged me out of here, and I tried to get away but more guards came and then poof. I was knocked out."

"That Ari bastard is still here you piece of trash," Ari growled menacingly. Nudge, still perched on his shoulder inched as far away from Ari as she could which wasn't really far considering he had her in a tight hold.

Ignoring the rest of us, Ari strolled out of the cage room and closed the door behind him, leaving us all in complete darkness.

"God, I'm about to tear my back off. What did those bastards do to me?" Iggy moaned in pain.

"I'm sorry Iggy, but you have wings," I muttered quietly.

"What did you say?" He asked, shocked.

"I said you have wings. Jeb told me that he genetically inserted avian DNA into our genes making us 2% bird. He gave us wings, which is why your back hurts. Fang, Angel, and I went through the same thing," I repeated.

"Angel! Is she okay? Is she awake yet?" Gazzy asked, extremely worried about his younger sister.

"Calm down Gazzy. She needs her sleep. If she can sleep through this without experiencing pain it will be much easier for her and for the rest of us," I reasoned.

"I get it, Max. I just wanted to make sure she was okay."

"I'm sure she's fine, Gaz. She's a strong, tough, and determined little fruit loop." He chuckled at my statement. "We all are, and we'll all make it out alive. I promise you that."

"Max, I'm the last one left," he stated sadly.

"I know, Gaz. I know. And I need you to be strong for us. I need you to be strong for the fruit loops. Do you think you can do that?"

"Yeah, I know I can, but not for the fruit loops. I can't be strong for breakfast cereal. If anything, I'd be strong for bacon. Do you know how long it's been since I had bacon."

"Little man, I hear ya. I miss my bacon," Iggy spoke up.

"I miss it's juiciness and the fattiness and the slipperiness and the messiness," Gazzy added.

"Don't forget the bacon-ness of bacon. Without the bacon-ness, there is no bacon."

"We're stuck in prison while some evil, psycho, crazy is mutating us and all you can think about is bacon," I giggled. "This is why I love you guys."

"Max loves me! Did you hear that world? Max loves Iggy!" Iggy shouted.

I heard a small giggle, one that I would recognize anywhere.

"Iggy, you retard! You woke up Angel!" I yelled before adding, "And since when did you speak about yourself in 3rd person? Isn't that Elmo's job."

"Oops. Sorry, Angel," he said sheepishly. "And Iggy's been talking about himself in 3rd person since forever."

"It's okay, I was already awake," Angel replied innocently before I could comment about Elmo being red and Iggy being the red fruit loop. It seems Iggy and Elmo had a lot more in common than we all expected. They could be twins for all I knew!

"How's your back, Ange. Is it okay? Does it hurt too much?" Gazzy questioned.

"Actually, it's fine. Jeb and his cronies must have given me an anesthetic since I am the youngest because I can't feel anything." She sounded a little surprised as if she had just noticed there was no pain in her back.

And now that she mentioned it the pain in my back was slowly fading and so was I. My eyes were drooping and my muscles were becoming harder and harder to move. All that was left to do was wait for Nudge to come back and for Gazzy to get his wings and that would be that. They'd be done with us and we'd be stuck in here forever. With that thought in my mind, I drifted off into a fitful sleep.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**Check out my profile and vote on the poll, please! **

**I know this chapter kind of sucked because of my writing, but I just wasn't in the mood. But as promised, I give you Chapter 20.**

**Last chapter, MPHknows brought up a really good point. Talia is not the only one who has died from cancer. She's the only one I know, but here's to every child and adult who had died from cancer. It's sad you didn't get to live your life to its fullest, but I hope you get what you deserve: a place in heaven.**

**Last chapter: Viva la Vida by Coldplay**

**...**

**_Thought I saw a man brought to life_**

**_He was warm, he came around like he was dignified_**

**_He showed me what it was to cry_**

**_..._**

**THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! How about 20 reviews for an update by next week? So 632? Can we do that? ****Thank you all once again!**


	21. The Arena

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride.**

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

**The Arena.**

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><p><em>Max P.O.V.~ <em>

By the time I woke up, Nudge had returned and whether or not Gazzy had been taken, I did not know. I yawned and stretched my arms as far as I could in the limited space. I could tell by the soft snores that Angel was curled up in the corner of her cage fast asleep again.

"Are you awake, Max?" I heard Fang call from across the darkness.

"Yeah, how long was I out?"

"Not too long. A couple hours maybe?"

"And you stayed awake the entire time?" I asked, worried. Fang hadn't slept since before he got shot, and if I've been keeping a semi accurate time clock, that was around 2 days ago. "Fang, you really need to rest."

"I'll rest when we're safe," Fang insisted.

I frowned. In the short time I knew him, I had plenty of time to learn about him. Of course, being in jail and having nothing to do, Fang was an interesting person to study. I had spent hours observing him, his habits, his eyes, his personality, his everything. Being in jail wasn't too hard when I had Fang around to keep me company. Though his words were limited, his presence alone made the dark cell bearable. And so, when Fang said he would rest when we were all safe, I knew he meant it.

I still tried to convince him otherwise, however. "Fang, if you don't have the strength and stamina, we're never going to be able to bust out of here. When we leave, we all have to be in the best conditions we can be."

"We have wings; we'll use them."

"And they are the ones that gave us the wings. If they would risk giving us wings, they would know how to take care of us should we turn on them. Besides, we don't even know how to use them yet. And I can't even find them."

I removed my shirt and ran my fingers along my back feeling the v-shaped scars that interrupted the otherwise smooth skin. No wings or feathers though.

"Fang, I don't know what to do," I said, finally voicing my fears. "Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel all look up to me, and I don't want to let them down."

"You won't Max. Trust me. You're the bravest, strongest, and most capable person I know. And the kindest, most caring, and prettiest," he said sincerely.

I let my mouth drop not even bothering to pull it back up. "Wow, Fang. That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard anyone say, and I totally did not expect that to come out your mouth."

"I'm full of surprises." I could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

I let out a laugh. The first laugh I let out since, it felt like years but it must have only been days. It felt good. "That is the most ironic thing I heard. It's like the ultimate oxymoron. Oh brawling love, oh loving hate! Oh surprising Fang," I choked out.

"Hey, I do not appreciate that! You sir, are an oxymoron!" he retorted. His low, underlying chuckle was barely heard being drowned out by my snorts, but I had trained myself to seek out Fang's laughs. They were precious and rare.

I clutched my sides and pushed more air out of my mouth. The corners of eyes watered. And the funny part was, I had no idea what was so funny! I laughed and laughed until I choked on the air that I used to laugh, and then I laughed about that because who chokes on air?

"Max, are you alright over there? You sound like a dying hyena with a bout of tuberculosis."

I clasped my hand over my mouth and smothered my laughter. It took some time to compose myself but once I did, I responded, "It felt good to laugh. I started and I just couldn't stop. I think I might have almost forgotten what laughing was like in these past couple days."

"You really needed that," noted Fang.

The atmosphere turned morbid all of a sudden. "I think we all need some of that," I stated morosely. I couldn't see him move his head, but I knew he nodded.

Laughing use to come easy. I could find humor in the stupidest and worst of situations, but lately there hadn't been much of that.

I don't think I really understood the situation I was in until then. I knew I was trapped. I knew life sucked. I knew we were in trouble. I knew the chances of getting out of this prison were slim. I knew Fang, Angel, Gazzy, Iggy, and Nudge were all I had. I knew things would never go back to normal. I knew we were lost. But what I didn't know: I didn't know whether or not I would lose myself. I didn't know whether I would become just like the other creatures in the cages. Animals who can't laugh because they are no longer human.

I didn't know I if would lose hope, if I _should _lose hope.

I mentally berated myself for that thought. I knew I couldn't lose hope. We had to stay positive and together in order to survive this.

"Are you done with you internal war which is actually more like a rampage," Iggy asked, waking up and yawning.

I coughed and chuckled as his yawn squeaked out. "How did you know I was on a rampage?" I asked Iggy.

"Because I can hear your thoughts from all the way over here," he explained. "You're not a very quiet thinker and- Max, what a dirty word to use!" He exclaimed.

"Lookie here, Iggy's a mind reader now!" I laughed.

"Maybe I am. You never know, but you did have your thinky face on and when you have your thinky face on, we all know what that means," he smirked.

I laughed again and Fang chuckled alongside me. Nope, definitely not going to lose hope or myself. Not when I had friends to rely and count on.

"Iggy, you can't even see my face right now. Can you even tell if I have my thinky face on or not?"

"Yeah, I can, Max. It's pretty clear," he insisted.

I frowned and my forehead creased. It was pitch black and I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face, how could Iggy see my face clearly? "Iggy, how many fingers am I holding up?" I asked, putting 4 fingers in the air.

"Four," he responded casually.

I flipped 3 fingers up. "Three.."

I flipped my middle finger up. "One.. Max! You bad, bad girl"

So Iggy could see me. Which meant only one thing. Iggy now had night vision. And, strangely enough, I was able to see Iggy's face as well just 6 feet away behind metal bars. And I could see Fang's sweaty hair plastered to his head. And I could see Angel curled up asleep in the corner of her cage.

I could see. Everything. It was no longer pitch black.

"Did someone open a door or something? I can see everything too now," I voiced.

"No, still pitch black," Fang offered.

This could only mean one thing. Night vision. No way. Did I really have night vision now? I wiggled my hands in front of my face, giggling as I saw it shake back and forth like a toad.

"Toad's don't shake Max," Angel said.

At the sound of her voice, I crossed to the other side of my cage, which really only meant I turned around, and saw Angel sitting up against the bars. "I'm sorry, Ange. Did we wake you up?"

She shook her head. "No, I was awake."

"What do you mean toads don't shake Angel?" Fang asked suddenly. I could now see his face clearly. He had his normal Fang masked; however, there was a hint of surprise on it.

"Max giggled because she said her hand was shaking like a toad, and I told her toads don't shake," she said simply, cocking her head to the side.

Fang leaned forward. "Max didn't say her hand shook like a toad," Fang said quietly.

I didn't? When Angel told me toads don't shake, I just assumed I spoke my thoughts aloud like usual. "Wait, Fang. I must have said it because I was thinking it and you know how great of a job my brain to mouth filter does."

He smirked. "Yeah Max. It's employee of the decade, but yes, I'm sure. You didn't say anything about your hands shaking like toads."

"Why would your hand even shake like a toad Max? Why wouldn't your hand shake like a milkshake. I mean your milkshakes certainly would bring all the boys to your yard, but I doubt if you had a toad, people would come to see you. But don't worry, Maxie! I shall be there for you no matter what!" Iggy stated. "Oh, and yeah you didn't say anything about toad shakes."

"Ange, are you okay?" I heard Gazzy ask. He must been brought back long before I woke up then.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But I could have sworn I heard Max say something about shaking toads."

"You know what," Nudge said suddenly. "The shaking toads could be a band name or a group name. Think about it. What if we got toads and taught them how to twerk and shake their butts! Wait, no. Then they would be twerking toads, and do toads even have butts to shake?"

"Nudge, I think that's taking it a little too far," I said between fits of laughter. Now that is something I would like to see. Twerking toads, my goodness what has this world come to.

And that's when someone decided to open the door to the room of cages and flood the place with white light. I internally cringed and shielded my eyes.

"My eyes! They burn! They burn!" Iggy screamed, frantically waving his hands all over the place while his eyes were closed. He unintentionally banged his hand into one of the bars of his cage which rang with a, well, ringing sound and murmured a little ouch while the rest of us cracked up even harder.

The door opened wider and Ari stood in the doorway bathed with light.

"Glad to see you all are having so much fun here," he sneered. "Well, you won't be having fun anymore. Today's the first day of your training, and we're starting offrough so ya'll better be prepared."

"What training?" Gazzy asked.

"What training, the mutt asks. Only just the most difficult and intense workout you will have gone through ever. We've even placed bets to see how quickly you all drop dead. For the little girl, it's 5 minutes max. For the emo boy, I'll give him maybe up to 20. Of course, that just depends on how tough he really is. He could be a wannabe wimp for all I know. And for you, Max. Everyone seems to have high hopes for you, but you know what I think. I think you won't even last 2 seconds," Ari sneered again. Ari has a strange habit of keeping his face in a perpetual sneer I noticed.

I glared at Ari's glowing yellow eyes. 2 seconds, my ass.

"Come along birdies. You don't want to miss your first flight lesson, do you?" Ari cackled. Yes, cackled.

He took a step back and started walking out the door leaving us still locked in the cages. Gazzy, picking up on this tiny tidbit of information that Ari seemed to have forgotten, asked, "Ari, exactly how are we supposed to come along if you don't unlock the cages?"

Ari stopped midway, not turning around, but by the way his shoulders hunched and tightened I could tell he was pissed.

"Oooooh! Would you like some ice with that burn, Ari. Maybe some aloe vera. You know, I hear it does wonders for your skin and for burns," Iggy laughed.

Ari turned around, his face scrunched up with an intense anger and hatred. His look was so murderous, Iggy automatically shut up and shrank back into his cage. Cheesers Price, what do they feed the security guards here. Hatred, misery and a whole bunch of steroids. I can just picture it.

_'What would you like for lunch?' _

_'I'll have the steroids a la mode please.' _

_'Would you like some hatred with that?' _

_'Oh, definitely. And could you sprinkle the steroids with a dash of misery and anger? I hear it does wonders for the body when tormenting the prisoners.'_

I was pulled out of my daydream by the raspy sound of Ari's voice snarling. "You brats. I hate the lot of you. Why Jeb keeps you here, treating you specially and different from everyone else when we all know you're trash."

"You might want to update yourself on the definition of special treatment. Usually, it involves having food and a bed to sleep in and maybe a five star hotel with a pool, but we're stuck in a muddy cage with bars and nails that could possibly give me tetanus. Really, Ari. The only way for this to be an improvement is if you spent your life living in a pit with scorpions and everyday the nearby villagers would come and dispose of their waste products in your pit," Nudge mused.

Ari grew redder and redder with anger, his fists clenched by his sides, and the veins of his neck throbbing and pulsing uncontrollably. And then, something happened. Ari's ears sharpened and fur erupted all over his visible skin. His muscles popped and tore open the sleeves of his shirt while struggling and threatening to split his shirt down the middle. His entire body thickened and his fists no longer had fingernails. Instead he had claws.

Seconds later, the transformation was complete. Ari was gone and in his place stood a wolfish, hairy, and doggone (tee hee dog) scary beast, drool dripping out the corners of his mouth and eyes blazing with a ferocious intensity.

I stared at Ari.

And stared.

And started to back away before I hit the wall of this cage. I looked for Fang, and Fang's eyes were opened unnaturally wide. His body was tense but otherwise he hadn't moved. I could feel something itching on my back. I reached behind me searching for the source uncomfortableness while not taking my eyes off Ari. I grasped and scratched at my back but nothing was working and the itch still remained.

Ari noticed my struggling and turned towards me, walking slowly and carefully, like a predator hunting his prey. I stopped moving.

POOF.

That's what I heard. Maybe it was a whoosh or a swish, but who cares.

Poof. That's the sound it makes when wings magically erupt out of your back. Ari's strange fur disease couldn't even compare to this right now. I had wings. I had freaking wings. Long, brown and white wings were growing out of my back. Did I mention I had wings?

And that's when Ari stopped moving and chose, instead, to stare at me before he cracked up laughing. Instantly, I turned a bright red. I tried to shove my wings back where they came from (I still have no clue where) by grabbing them and shoving them back against my back, but I couldn't reach them and I wasn't strong enough to pull them back. Ari just laughed harder. The fur on his face was gone and so was the monster; all that was left was Ari and the torn clothes he was wearing.

"What's so funny?" I asked indignantly. My face turned even redder and though I couldn't see it, I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks and the heat as it pooled beneath my eyes.

Ari wiped the tears from his eyes. Glad to see I can make him laugh so hard even though I don't really know what's so funny. Ari took a few deep breaths struggling to get his breathing under control before responding, "That's why you need training. You need to learn how to control the wings and how to use them. You also need to train your bodies to resist or develop an immunity to most types of pain." Ari's straight and no-funny-business face was back again.

He walked over to us slowly and before unlocking our cages he said, "Don't even think about escaping or trying to run away. I could take you all on at once and get away with not even a scratch."

I frowned. "Wasn't planning on it, but if you're really so confident maybe we should go a couple rounds or two."

"Max, don't. Ari's right. You've seen what he can do and we really don't need you to get injured again," Angel said. Always the voice of reason that one.

"Listen to the girl Max. This is one you're just going to have to let go. But later, when you're ready, why not?"

I scowled as I stepped out of my cage and followed Ari out the door, the rest of the group following close behind. I could feel Fang's presence beside me even though we weren't touching.

Ari led us through the white hall as the working scientists turned to stare at us. I scowled and tried to flip up the collar of my jumpsuit. We followed Ari out of the lab and through the halls. We past empty jail cells and occupied jail cells, the latter being worse because their occupants tended to flip out at us. On and and on and on we walked. I gave up trying to make a mental map of the passages a long time ago.

When Ari finally stopped, my legs were sore, tired, and threatening to give way. I leaned on the wall searching for some support when Fang silently came up beside me, grabbed my arm, and placed it around his shoulder. I let Fang carry half my weight as I struggled to catch my breath. For some reason, I was extremely out of it right now.

"We are here. When you walk in, you will see things you may never have seen before, but I encourage you, they are perfectly safe. It's been two years since the last person died and we've made modifications," Ari smirked. He opened the doors, which were once again hidden in the walls, and threw them open. They slammed the opposite walls with a bang.

Inside, (I'm not even sure if we were inside considering how large the room was) it was bigger than the laboratory, maybe even twice as big and the glass ceiling was so high, it felt as if there was no ceiling at all. All around there was just stuff. There were exercise equipment, stuff that looked like exercise equipment, stuff that looked straight out of the CIA training facilities and the hunger games, stuff that just looked painful with spikes and studs, a track, a forest, a pit of fire, and I would continue but there's just too much to list.

I stood there gaping.

"Welcome to the Arena folks. Chances are, this place might just be your morgue," Ari grinned.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**I know this is a filler chapter and I haven't updated in a while, but have faith. I have a lot of work to do and I am working on these stories! **

**Check out my profile and vote on the poll, please!**

**Last chapter: Torn - Natalie Imbruglia**

**...**

**_Well you only need the light when its burning low_**

**_Only miss the sun when it starts to snow_**

**_Only know you love her when you let her go_**

**_..._**

**THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! How about 21 reviews for an update by next week? So 660? Can we do that? ****Thank you all once again!**


	22. The Power

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride.**

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

**The Power. **

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><p><em>Fang's P.O.V.~<em>

Well, I certainly wasn't expecting this. When Ari said Arena, I was expecting an Olympics size track and field stadium or maybe an ancient Roman gladiator Coliseum type thing with horses and some really fancy people dressed up in bedsheets and leaves. I really didn't expect a pit of snakes. On The List, it would be like 342 or something. Yes, The List:

List Of Things I Imagine I Would See In An Arena:

1) Gladiators

2) Romans

3) Katniss Everdeen (And yes, I do read books. I haven't been living under a rock for my entire life... Just part of it.)

4) Peeta Mellark (because Peet-Peet and Katnip are like joined at the hip)

...

342) Pit of Snakes.

See. Number 342.

I realize I sound completely out of character, but this is my head. Who knows what goes on in here?

I stepped inside the Arena. Instantly, the atmosphere changed. The entire room was flooded with Power. Just unnatural, excess power that the human body could learn to harness and use. Very few people could actually feel and sense the Power, and it allowed for those select few to be bigger and better than the rest in an almost superhuman way.

Max, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, and Iggy stepped in after me flanking my sides. I felt Max shiver by my side. Could she feel it too?

"Wow. Can you feel that?" Max asked, quietly. I heard the intake of breath and the shaky exhale as she let the Power sink into her bones and enter her lungs. Guess that answers that question; she could feel it too. Hot. Like majorly, hot.

"Yeah, it's like the world is made up of unicorns and rainbows. I just want to melt into it," Nudge declared sighing. Not exactly the way I would have described it but effective. The Power was like a coat, a coat made of the most simple and basic elements. Each coat was different depending on the person wielding the power. It changed based on the persons skills and talents.

"It feels like explosions and fires to me," Gazzy screamed, pumping his arms. "I feel so alive!"

Ari followed us in and closed the door behind us. "Do you understand why you all are here?"

"We can feel it." It wasn't a question. It was a statement and Angel knew it. We could all feel the Power around us.

"What you're feeling is the Power. Very few people can actually sense it and this is why you lot were chosen to be part of this experiment. Along with your wings, you will learn to harness the Power, but don't worry, we're going to make this very interesting for you," Ari said with a grin.

"You all are here for your first experiment, the Wall." Ari pointed at the wall in the distance. From here it looked massive, over 200 feet at least. Who knows how big it would be close up.

"Your task is to climb the wall in under 2 minutes and then jump off. You are expected to use your wings to land safely. There is no safety net or pit at the bottom, nor is there a foam mattress. If you fall, you fall into hard concrete. Try not to."

"Are you seriously, freaking kidding me. This is your idea of training and fun," Iggy asked. "Where did Jeb find you sickos. Mental facilities. The bottom of the ocean. Uranus. No, that doesn't sound right. Maybe Jeb's anus. You lot are disgusting."

Ari merely smiled. "For that Ignacio, you're going first."

"Like heck I am."

Ari frowned, his eyes sparking and his muscles bulging. "Ignacio, get your scrawny ass over to that wall, pronto!" Ari yelled, spit and other stuff flying out of his mouth and onto Iggy's scrunched up face.

Iggy wiped his face off with the sleeve of his jumper and glared back at Ari. "Make me," Iggy said with a smirk.

Kid, I admire your guts, but you need to learn how to handle situations better.

Ari smiled. The worst possible smile that one could smile and grabbed Iggy by his neck, lifting him off the floor like he weighed absolutely nothing.

"I think I will," Ari smirked back. Iggy's face was turning purple by the time Ari let him go, and by let him go, I mean Ari threw him against the wall before pouncing on Iggy and punching his face with the force of 10 grown men. Each punch that landed echoed with a sickening crunch.

"Iggy!" Max yelled. She ran towards him and I reached out, trying to stop her and pull her back before she also got pummeled but she was gone. Max jumped on Ari's back and pounded her fists against the solid muscle. It took her a full 20 seconds to realize that she actually knew how to fight. She jumped off his back and instead took a couple steps back before throwing her body against Ari's and, surprisingly, knocking him off of Iggy. Angel ran over to Iggy and cradled his bleeding face.

Max started to throw a couple punches herself and on anyone else, they probably would have hurt, but Ari barely even flinched. He lay down as Max punched him while straddling him and grinned. "Oh Maxie, you shouldn't have done that."

Ari flipped Max over so that he was straddling her, but he didn't punch her. Nope. Instead, he stroked the side of her face and brushed her hair behind her ear. "You know Max. You would have made one sexy little toy if you weren't so goddamn annoying."

And then, he leaned down and kissed Max full on the lips as she struggled to get away. He grabbed her head and made no effort to get off her.

That bastard.

That stupid, cowardly, punk ass, buttheaded, douchy, bastard.

Nobody touches Max and gets away with it. A noise escaped me, originating from my stomach. It was low, threatening, ferocious, deep, and animalistic almost like a growl. Ari's lips were still on Max's and she was still struggling to get away.

I yelled.

Then, just like Max, I threw my body against Ari's and knocked him off of Max.

"Nobody," I said, punching that sick, twisted, pervert in the jaw.

"Touches." I punched him in the eye. That one was going to bruise.

"My." Ari was no longer smiling. Unlike Max, I knew where to hurt. I knew how to hurt. Max knew how to defend. I knew how to kill.

"Girl." I punched his throat right on the windpipe. The wind rushed out of him and he choked on air. I slowly got off Ari as he struggled to gain his breath. I aimed one last kick at his crotch and watched him grunt and clutch at his groin in pain.

I ran back over to Max. She was wiping her lips on her sleeve and spitting everything in her mouth onto the floor. "I need to wash my mouth with soap after this," she said.

I chuckled. "You should. I'm not kissing that till its clean."

Max laughed, her eyes twinkling. "Are you sure about that?" She winked and brought her head closer to mine. She seemed to forget all about her kiss with Ari. I tend to have that effect on women.

I gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Nope. Now let's go check on Iggy."

Her eyes widened in shock. "Iggy! Is he okay?" She got up and ran over to his side. I watched Ari as she tended to Iggy's wounds. He was starting to get up.

"Stay down, dog boy," I growled. He got up anyway, brushed the dirt off his shoulders, and sneered.

"Looks like you're going first, Fang," he said with a snarl.

"What the hell ever," I responded with equal contempt.

"I hope you break a few bones on the way down."

And I hope you could gain a couple brain cells and not be a stupid mutt. Of course, I didn't stay that. That went over my word limit and the only person with that luxury was Max. Ari was nothing special and I wasn't about to waste my time insulting a thing like him.

"Would be my pleasure," I said instead. "Your bones, of course." 8 words, well within my limit.

"Oh, sassy emo boy are we? Don't forget, you're all still wearing your collars," Ari said with a grin.

Oh crap.

"Fang, you have 1 minute to run the 500 meters to the wall," Ari said, his hand fingering a little remote with a big blue button. Blue.

I looked back at Max who was taking care of Iggy on the ground. She'd ripped the sleeve of her clothes to make a makeshift bandaid to soak up the blood. She looked back at me, her eyes telling me one thing. Go.

I sprinted. It takes most non-sprinters over a minute to run 400 meters, but I wasn't most and I knew how to sprint. I reached the wall with seconds left to spare, my breath coming out in little huffs. I took one deep breath to get my breathing under control.

"Now climb!" Ari yelled from where he was.

What a baby pink idiot.

I grabbed the first crevice I found in the wall and pulled myself up. I grabbed a hanging rock and then another and then another, quickly making my up the wall. I climbed and climbed and climbed until I reached the top. My muscles burned with exhaustion.

"Now jump!" Ari yelled. His voice sounded miles away from where I stood.

I looked down. A fall at this height would kill anybody, human or not.

I took off my shirt and wriggled my back. The wings that were so clearly molded into my skin popped out. A full 15 feet of pure black feathers.

And then I jumped.

And I fell.

And I kept falling.

I kept falling until a burst of air exploded under my wings and yanked me upwards, slowing my descent. I angled my body to get the most out of the wind beneath my wings, but I had no control over the mass of feathers spurting out of my back.

_Come on wings, fly. Do your thing. _

The ground came closer and closer, faster and faster.

_Fly! _I told myself.

And I flew.

Angling upwards at the very last second before I crashed into the ground, my wings expanded to their full length and with a powerful stroke, I was propelled back into the air.

...

I was flying and it was the most exhilarating feeling of my life. It was like the high after the kill minus the bloodshed and the killing. It was like I was finally free. I finally had no limits.

I was so caught up in the emotions that rushed through me as I soared that I didn't see it coming. I should have seen it or sensed it but I didn't. I actually felt the giant rock smash into my wings before I saw it.

A ripple of pain shuddered through my body. I don't know how much more pain it can take before it gives up. I flapped my wings, each stroke hurting even more than the last. Struggling to stay in the air, I gave one last powerful stroke before my wings finally gave out and I came tumbling down.

I fell on the concrete with a sickening crunch of bones and before I could do anything else, my world turned white.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**Short chappie, but as some of you requested, there was a little bit of Fang's P.O.V and I expect some more love for that.. jk, it would be nice though!**

**Last chapter: Let Her Go by Passenger**

**...**

**_Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry_**

**_you don't know how lovely you are_**

**_I had to find you, tell you I need you_**

**_tell you I set you apart_**

**_..._**

**It took us a while to reach the last chapter's goals and I understand that ya'll are probably too busy to read and review, but if you could take a couple seconds, that would be fantastic! **

**How about 16 reviews for an update by next week? So 692? Can we do that? ****  
><strong>

**Oh and btw, the 700th reviewer gets a little something, something (; **

**Thank you~**

**Thank you~ **


	23. Author's Note

Dear Readers,

Merry Christmas!

I know you were probably expecting an update and I'm really sorry about this being an author's note but this is a reminder that I remember I have stories that need to be finished and I will eventually get around to finishing them.

Unfortunately because I hadn't checked my fanfiction account in a really long time, all my documents were deleted and so now I have to rewrite everything because they're gone.

Please be patient with me and thank you all for reading! I love you all and I hope you had a great holiday!


	24. Another Author's Note

Dear Readers,

I have decided that working on five stories at the same time is actually very difficult to do, and I don't want to be doing it anymore. So from now on, I will finish one story at a time until my stories are complete.

I'm really sorry for the long wait, and I hope I will be able to finish my stories quickly with faster updates, especially now that it's summer.

The stories and their statuses are listed below.

_Paralyzer - I shall continue to regularly update Paralyzer during the summer and hopefully I might even be able to finish before senior year and college applications start :)_

_Parisian Passion - Will be on break_

_Jailbirds, Lovebirds, Avian Americans... Same thing - Will be on break_

_Because of a Fight - SHOULD be finished by the end of summer; will be updated_

_Love in Fear - Will be on break_

* * *

><p>I'm really, really, really, really, really sorry that I keep getting your hopes up and then you guys have to sit and read an author's note<p>

BUT

I want you all to know that I am here, I am alive, and I will finish these stories!

Just be patient and be the amazing people you all are.

Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing and sticking with me and waiting patiently. I really do love you all and I hope you guys have found some amazing fanfiction to read!

I love you all!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Nehaloonie


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